FateIncarnate X4
by A.K.J.19
Summary: Four of the Winds of Magic are cast Mercilessly through the infinite Void. When they arrive at a world that immediately attempts to nullify their existence the four winds simultaneously dive into the only living thin in the burning city. A boy with orange hair and yellow eyes. Still the Winds brought more than just their reduced power with them. Rated M to be Safe
1. Prologue: Reborn in Fire and Death

**SO yeah back in November I was reading this crossover called Cry of the Wind and I was all like that it pretty awesome and all. Then about in December the author took it down for some reason or the other and I was like dammit, anyway I figured the premise of it was a good idea as it gave me this one SO I decided to finally get off my ass and a write fic. It is my first fic so please go easy on me guys.**

* * *

" _If I ignore a friend I have the ability to help, wouldn't I be betraying him?_ " -Killua Zoldyck , Hunter X Hunter

* * *

Four fragments of the eight Winds of Magic were ruthlessly cast flying together through the infinite void intertwined two f the said winds, Ulgu the wind of Shadow and Shyish had been pried from their respective incarnates rather forcefully that they had taken a part of the incarnate with them. The third was the wind of Chamon the one that the other two clung onto as all three of them were tossed through the infinite nothingness. Least of them the one that the wind of metal has tangled with the most was Aqshy the wind of fire that burned brightly lighting the nothingness the winds were in. The Winds themselves were reduced greatly by the unmaking, the wind of Metal and fire, Chamon and Aqshy were the ones who were reduced the most this was due to the fate of the respective winds of magic's incarnations, The head of the Phoenix Guard Caradryan and the human Archmage Gelt.

Still this was only temporary as the four winds that were intertwined were violently trust out of the void. The four winds were flung through into a new scenery one that smelled of ash and smoke. An unnatural fire raged fuelled by a power that was birthed by a power of a vile nature. The four winds as they were flung noticed a tiny speck of life admits this carnage and vileness. The need for an incarnation was immediate as they felt their existence contested by an outside force.

While the Winds of Magic may have been able to eventually over power this they were reduced immensely and required an incarnate to recover. Without a moments hesitation all four of the winds plunged into the body of a dying child that spasmed violently as a new fire burnt out the one that was raging around the boy. Surprisingly despite the spasms the boys body suffered the transition was met with no resistance on the spiritual level, it was because the child was empty they had managed to claim him as he expired so his soul had already departed but had been called back though ti was now very distorted and fragmented due to the way it had been ripped from the afterlife. The boys heart started beating as a purer more bright flames burnt all the corruption around him and purge the area he was in. Still the Boy did not wake. The Winds of Magic were okay with this as they too rested in order to once again gain their full power.

It was after several hours that the winds of magics rest was interrupted as light flooded the boy that they had chosen's fragmented soul waking the boy. For the first time since he had expired in the fire the first time.

As the boy opened his golden eyes the child gazed up to see that his saviour was smiling and weeping with tears of joy as if the man who had just had awoken the boy was the one who had been saved instead. The boy at that point could only look at the man with the empty greyish black eyes who possessed black hair and could only ask himself " _If I saved someone could I smile like that too_?"

* * *

The first thing Kiritsugu noticed about the place he was in was the lack of Angra Mainyu's presence. Like the rest of the area he was in the place was burt to cinders with ash all around, however the feel here was different almost as if the essence of the Grail had been burnt away. While the crippled Magus was grateful for that he was rather surprised at what he was seeing. The Boy he had just placed Avalon in had been healed rather quickly, too quickly in fact. Still the Child had gone back to sleep after looking at him for several moments. Still Kiritsugu was immensely overjoyed that he had actually 'saved' someone for the first time in his life.

Kiritsugu managed to carry the boy out of the fire still the boys condition made taking him to the hospital unnecessary, still there was a lot of work that he needed to do if he were to have the boy stay with him. Kiritsugu himself was also interested in how the boy who seemed to have survived the fire had managed to remain intact. Still the Cursed Magus Killer decided that that was a mystery for another time and he should focus mainly on leaving this place with the boy as it would be dangerous to stay any longer. Still Emiya Kiritsugu was gladdened he had found someone to save as the curse that Angra Mainyu had placed on him weighed heavily on the Mans soul.

Kiritsugu eventually was able to make it to where the fire that the grail had caused had not reached. Still despite getting there one of the rescue teams found him and the boy and managed to take both of them to the hospital. In the case of the orange haired boy Kiritsugu had saved it was incase of any mental damage that the child had suffered. The Magus Killer would be surprised if the child had not suffered from something though he suspected that something else had aided in Avalon's healing of the child. The only question was what, The Grail was corrupt the essence of all the worlds energies staining it black and twisting it's very nature to it's core.

The thought of the head of the Einzbern Family who had become the Grail fate triggered a far more grim reality for Kiritugu. The current head of the Einzbern's, Jubstacheit von Einzbern would not take his actions of ordering Saber to destroy the Grail kindly. In fact he would perceive it as betrayal and no doubt have several agents sent to punish Kiritsugu or worse he may do something to the Magus Killer's daughter Illyasviel. Kiritsugu reasoned that Jubstacheit would most probably poison his daughter against him and use her in the next grail war to continue to punish him. It was certainly in the mans character after all the Einzberns were desperate to win the Grail War and that was the whole reason they had even bothered to hire him in the first place, because they wanted representative who would win the Grail War. Still Kiritsugu discovered that he would be unable to ponder any of these issues that he would have in the remainder of his life for the moment. As the Magus Killer felt the tendrils of exhaustion sink into him and claim him and his vision turned black as sleep and exhaustion claimed him.

Still the sleep Kiritsugu experienced was far from peaceful, but at least when it was relaxing the that the Magus Killer had saved seemed to have to fight his own battles even as he slept. In short the boy's sleep like the Kiritsugu's was far from peaceful.

* * *

 _The Boy stared at the most beautiful and most alluring Woman who had just spoken to him "I did not" the boy answered speaking slowly because for some reason he had come to realise that the Woman he was seeing had been reading his thoughts and learned of the episode that she had not been present nor had anyone else been there to report it to her._

" _That is good" the woman stated as she sat in a dignified pose despite the fact that she was near to being completely nude. The boy also for some reason found that she exuded an aura of majesty and grandeur, what disturbed him was that for some reason this woman seemed familiar to him. "The Sword controlled your father" the Queenlike woman stated in a hushed yet reassuring tone. Who was she? How did she know him? These were the thoughts that ran like wildfire through the boys head as the woman spoke to him. What sword was she talking about? Who was his father? What in the world was going on_

" _Since his death it has yearned for you to seek it out." She explained "I was worried that you would be ensnared by its power as well, I am proud that you resisted it's bloodthirsty call." Again who was this woman and why was she so familiar, the boy new that he had never seen a place akin to this in his life before, and why did he feel angered every time he gazed at her. It definitely looked like a place he had seen in story tales, a dark gloomy castle that belonged to the villain._

" _None can truly be it's master, and if you are to rule, then you must be the master of everything" the woman informed him. Rule what why would he desire to rule over anything?_

" _I would rather the world be devoured by daemons than unleash that fell creation upon the world again" the boy who could not remember his own name found himself telling the woman as he sheathed his sword. "As you say, once drawn it will consume it's wielder until nothing but blood remains" he agreed. "No person can be a king with it's power only a slave." Why did he desire to be a king? Why was he even speaking to this woman._

" _Sit down" the Woman instructed waving a hand invitingly to a the grand throne. It was black and it's back was shaped like a rearing dragon, a genuine work of art._

 _The boy found himself declining "It is not yet my place to sit there" he replied._

 _The Woman looked surprised at his refusal "Oh, and why is that?" she asked_

 _If I am to rule Nagarythe, I shall do it alone, without you" he informed the Woman, why was he even speaking? More importantly what the hell was he saying? "When you are slain the army of Nagarythe will be mine again. I shall hold power over the pleasure cults and with them secure the Phoenix throne." Armies? Nagarythe, Pleasure Cults? Phoenix Throne?_

 _The Woman on her part looked silently at him with a devious look hidden in her eyes as if she was judging or reading him. Then a sly smile twisted her lips "You mean to slay me?" she asked surprise or mock surprise adorning her features._

" _While you live your ambition will always be a shadow upon mine" he informed her "You cannot help but be my rival, for it is in you nature to serve no one besides yourself" he explained. "I cannot share Ulthan with you for you could never truly share it with me, even my father was not your master" the boy realised that what he was saying carried an immense amount of weight for some reason he felt that whoever he had referred to as his father was raster important and powerful. "I would exile you, but you would only rise up again in some forgotten corner, a contender for everything that I aspire to" he spoke ending his explanation._

 _Cannot share?" the Woman asked "Or will not?" she challenged. It seemed that she was testing him._

" _wIll not" the boy found himself replying after a moments pause of consideration as he matched the woman's gaze with his intent._

" _And what is it that you aspire, my son?" the Woman asked eagerly as she leaned forward._

 _The Boy found his eyes widening at this, this Woman was his mother, the boy was both horrified and ashamed of himself. He wanted nothing more than to cast himself at her feet and plead for her forgiveness for threatening her and not recognising her as his mother despite the fact that the two of them were talking in a rather conversational manner and had been doing so. Another part of him was horrified that 'this' woman was his mother, though he did not fully understand why. "To inherit my father's legacy and rule as Phoenix King" the boy found himself answering her. Again what was he talking about? Why did he desire this Phoenix Throne so? Why did he desire to this after seeing the nature of the forces that ruled the world._

" _Yes the Forces of Chaos are strong" the Woman agreed with him._

 _The boy found himself taking a step forward in anger and snarling "Stay out of my thoughts" he threatened his hand resting on his sword ready to draw it in less than a heartbeat._

" _I need no magic to know the workings of you mind, Malekith" the Woman who referred to herself as his mother stated naming the boy as she gazed fixedly at him. "There is a bond between a mother and son that requires no sorcery" she explained to him still staring at the boy she had called Malekith intently._

" _Do you submit yourself to your fate?" Malekith asked ignoring her reminder obvious reminder of their relationship. Mainly as it was an attempt to stay his hand._

" _You should know better than to ask such a pointless question" the his mother replied her voice chastising and stern. "Have I not always told you that you were destined to be king?" she asked her son rhetorically. "You cannot be king unless your are prince of your own region" she explained "and I will not surrender it willingly" his mother informed him. "Prove to me that you are worthy of ruling Nagarythe. Prove it to the other princes that the strength within you is greater than any other" she demanded. It seems that this was about to erupt into a rather violent confrontation._

* * *

" _Y_ _ou were_ _destined_ _to be king_ " the Woman that had claimed to be his mother's voice echoed inside the boys skull as he awoke to the scene of a hospital room, still the words resonated with the boy. "Was I _?_ " the boy asked himself unsure of it.

One of the Nurses the nurses on duty noticed that he was awake. "Oh you're awake" she stated. "I'll go inform him that you are." with this the woman left the room leaving the boy alone for the moment.

"Who could she be going to get?" the boy asked himself unsure as he had a feeling that despite the memory he had seen that he did not really know his parents even if that woman was indeed his mother. Still he felt a little off with the whole thing but it had definitely felt real. Too real to be just a dream The boy also found that he could recall what the name of the sword he had on him in that dream or memory 'Avanuir' he remembered it being called though he didn't know why. More importantly what were these details he received when he recalled the image of the sword. It was rather confusing

It was then that the nurse came back into the room followed by the man who had saved him from the fire. "As you can see sir he has just awake" she explained to the man. "Also the boy may be still suffering from post traumatic stress so please don't ask anything that may trigger a negative reaction" the nursed asked the man who smiled sadly at her before nodding.

"Don't worry I just wanted to see if the boy was okay." he informed the Nurse as he went and sat on the chair next to the hospital bed.

Before he could say anything the boy decided to speak "You were the one who saved me from the fire sir" he stated in a very mature way. "Thank you" he said the man dipping his head in respect "for coming back to check up on me."

It appeared that the man was rather taken aback by this "Well your welcome" he replied finally. The nurse had left as she was needed elsewhere. "Honestly I am happy that I was able to save you" the man admitted.

"Could I smile like you did if I saved other people?" the boy asked him wondering and hoping that he could.

"I'm not sure" the man confessed "I myself was glad that I had finally been able to save at least one person." It was then that the man realised that he had not introduced himself "I'm sorry for not introducing myself earlier" he apologised "Not really sitting a good example for you am I?" he asked in a rather resigned tone.

"I wouldn't know" the boy replied with a blank face betraying no emotion or opinion. This must have slightly unnerved or disturbed the man for some reason or another.

"My name is Kiritsugu Emiya" the man introduced himself "what is your name?" he asked the boy.

"The boy looked down to at where his quilt that covered his lower half was. He then struggled to try and remember but nothing came up. Then he remembered the words the woman whose named he didn't even know who claimed to be his mother had stated " _I need no magic to know the workings of you mind, Malekith_ " she had told him.

That word at the end of what she had said where she had named him resounded with the boy on an extremely high level as if it were calling out towards him. The word itself and syllables its felt belonging as the boy tasted them as he mouthed them and ran the word over and over inside of his mine. Looking up with a determined look the boy finally replied to the man "Malekith" he stated. "My name is Malekith." The way the boy had said this was as if it was the one and only truth he knew that was not false, this genuinely surprised the man who had rescued him but for a variety of different reasons that were unknown to the child due to his lack of knowledge on the moonlit world.

* * *

Emiya Kiritsugu blinked at what the boy said. The name he had just stated was a peculiar one not to mention rather strange name for anyone. The name 'Malekith' sounded like something a Magus would name their child, but only the most eccentric ones. "Malekith?" Kiritsugu asked cautiously "are you certain that is your real name?" The boy may have just been calling himself that but this notion was dispelled as soon as the boy spoke again.

"It is the only one that I can remember being called" the boy replied nodding. "A Woman who referred to herself as my mother called me that" the boy explained no traces of doubt on his any of his features.

"You don't remember anything other than that?" Kiritsugu asked. It seemed that the boy was suffering from some type of amnesia, given what he had survived it was no surprise. Still it was disconcerting that the boy did suffer from it. Kiritsugu also felt ashamed of himself because he had inadvertently caused the Fuyuki fire by forcing Saber to use her Noble Phantasm on the Grail.

"No I cannot remember anything else" the boy stated. "I can see who she is but I cannot make the emotional connection nor did I recognise her when she called me her son."

"You have my condolences for your loss" Kiritsugu informed the child that had named himself Malekith

"There is nothing to apologise about" the boy stated "I do not remember them so I cannot mourn them." The boy then cocked his head to the side like a bird would do when investigating something "in fact other than myself you are the only person that I know the name of. In fact in my memory the woman who called herself my mother seemed to be some sort of evil witch." the boy who called himself Malekith explained recalling the battle that had definitely seen the use of magic,

"A witch what makes you say that?" Kiritsugu asked suspicious, was this boy really a child of the Magic community.

"She used something that was dark and felt wholly unnatural and evil" the boy answered. "That and she could effect the area of people's bodies like she did to myself bringing me to my knees my body thundering with pain."

While it was not wholly heard of Kiritsugu suspected that this boy was the child of a sealing Designate and one who had been given that for a very good reason. "Is there anything else about her that you remember?" Kiritsugu asked.

"Yes she seemed rather insane" the boy stated "the woman that called herself my mother seemed to talk too much about how I was destined to be some sort of king and wield immense power and how she would be my guide."

" _Yep definitely the child of a Sealing Designate_ " Kiritsugu thought as he heard that explanation. " _Still I have not heard of this one_ " Kiritsugu internally mused " _but then again I have been out of it for over nine years so it is possible that this woman was a more recent Sealing Designate,_ _that way I would not have known of her existence._ " This explanation did seem to satisfy the Magus Killer still am idea formed in the back of the man's mind that he believed may just work. "Say kid since you don't remember your parents and you don't remember much of anything what would you say if I were to adopt you?" he asked Kiritsugu was unsure of why he decided to ask this but it felt right for him.

The boy seemed to consider this proposal for some time in fact it took several minutes and Kiritsugu was about to speak when Malekith finally looked raised his head and matched the Magus Killer's stare. "I accept" he informed Kiritsugu.

While Kiritsugu was glad that the boy had accepted there was one thing he needed to clear first "Malekith before we can go any further on that topic there is one thing you must know" he told Malekith. Seeing the Malekith's unasked question in the boy's eyes Kiritsugu sighed as he continued "I" Kiritsugu began "I am a Magus" he he finished, informing the child what was going to be his adopted son.

* * *

The adoption went smoothly, though Kiritsugu did use a little bit of hypnotism that he still possessed so that it would be over and done with more quickly. Soon the Two of them were back in the residence that Kiritsugu had purchased during the fourth Grail War for Irisviel to reside in after the Einzbern Castle had been badly damaged by in the conflict with Kayenth El-Melloi Archibald. With a little bit of work the residence was soon set into a respectable condition.

The Boy had not really pestered Kiritsugu to teach him Magic but he had started to experiment on his own in the shed. Kiritsuug had not stopped the boy because at this moment in time the child had only been writing down information in notebooks making theories he had yet to practice. Still Kiritsugu decided that it was time to review what his 'son' had been doing for that last six months.

The boy Malekith or as Kiritsugu called him in public Mal had gone out for some fresh air to keep himself fit. The Magus killer had realised that though the boy had lost most of his memories he had retained the knowledge of what he had seen or been privy to as his research notes seemed to be rather detailed though the Magus killer noticed that the majority of the notes that he was reviewing had something to do with the forced animation of living objects like forcing a heart to beat after the oner had just expired. Though the Magus killer did note tat there were a few notes on some advanced forms of necromancy there. Though the concepts on how to use them were foreign to him.

This is what had led Kiritsugu to decide to make sure Mal was practicing thaumaturgy correctly as to be a Magus was to walk side by side with death, and that was something that Kiritsugu did not desire to occur to Mal as the boy had not yet reached his second decade. Still he needed to make sure that the boy understood the implications of what he was doing, while Mal seemed to be a rather mature individual he also seemed to have a strange understanding of things.

The Young Girl named Taiga who Kiritsugu had taken a liking to due to her similarity to his first love Shirley had always complained on how Mal would say things so bluntly and stated that he was being mean to her. Mal on his part was only observing the girls behaviour and commenting on it, he never had said anything bad about it though the fact that Mal had never said anything good either may have made it felt that he was seeing her in a negative light.

Still from the notes he had read the concepts and method of execution was vague if one did not understand it, in fact even though Kiritsugu was not a traditional Magus he had a difficult time understanding what Mal had written. That was when Kiritsugu realised that what Mal may be experimenting with may not have had anything to do with Thaumaturgy at all. This would explain a great deal why the association may have placed a Sealing Designation on the boy's mother. Still some of the notes Kiritsugu had read through had to do with the manipulation of shadows and the uses of such. After reading several pages worth of what the boy had written Kiritsugu's decision was now set in stone, he would have to explain to Mal the concept of Thaumaturgy as what the boy seemed to experimenting with was borderline sorcery. The particular notes about infusing Souls to empower physical objects was but one of many notes that Kiritsugu had discovered.

* * *

Mal smiled triumphantly as he held his prize in his hand. He had been searching for days to discover and abduct one of these beings without being caught. Luckily one of the theories he had on how to counter spells paid off with him severing this creatures link with it's master. The itself creature was not too large but fitted in the child's hand quite fine but still it resembled a worm something that people would not normally pay attention to.

But Mal was definitely not normal by any stretch of imagination and he smiled a rather merciless smile as his shadow writhed and moved in concert with his thoughts making it appear rather malevolent as it waxed and waned in size while not maintaining any recognisable form or shape. The ground that Mal stood on was barren of life as if all of it had withered away.

"Now I can test this theory" Mal said to himself as he looked at the dead creature in his palm. With a little form of effort Mal felt himself using the magic he had felt his entire short existence. With a no effort of will Mal reanimated the little disgusting creature that began to squirm in his hand. While he had severed its link to its master using that same form of magic he had not bound it to himself, now the creature was just a mindless beast that lack direction. Mal balled his and into a fist destroying the creature he had just recently reanimated it's use of confirming this theory had ended and he had no need of such a disgusting and vile creature anyhow. "Now all I have to do is figure out how to use this on more complex organisms" Mal stated. Perhaps he should try a rat next and then a bigger animal, until finally he would reach Humans and be able to bring them back at will.

Still the only problem with this was that he didn't know if it could be reanimated so quickly if he waited longer after it had expired. Mal inwardly sighed as he realised that he should probably stay were he was for about an hour until he attempted again, perhaps the increase in the damage may help him understand the process more as of right now he was only relying on his feel to grasp the concept. "I guess I could come home a little later." Malekith assumed as he decided to keep on the move, no doubt that whoever this little creature belonged to would no doubt investigate what had happened and he didn't want to be caught and reveal his presence just yet so the boy slunk back into the shadows completely vanishing from view and detection. The remains of the Worm he had just crushed still held firmly within the boys hand, as he departed for a different location to continue his experiment such things he did require knowledge of if he was going to grow any stronger. A Ruler needed to be powerful after all, one without power cannot rule and would only be a joke. Mal had no intention of being the laughing stock of anyone.

* * *

Zouken Matou raised his eyebrow. Well the man if you could call him that did not have any hair so he technically didn't raise his eyebrow. But was nonetheless intrigued as one of his Crest worms link to him had been severed. The Worm had not died as the Link had been _severed_ as if someone had deliberately cut him off from his familiar. Zouken then had decided to send some other Crest worms of his to the location to view what had just happened.

Even though the Crest worms had arrived there rather quickly the only thing they had found was that the ground had decayed and that someone had performed some _dark_ type of Magecraft there. The lingering scent of the Magic was not Evil but just as it had been called _dark_. If this had Zouken's interest before now it had his attention as this was something that the two hundred year old man had not seen and was very intrigued by it.

Deciding that he should maintain a lookout for whoever was responsible for this Zouken smirked to himself. Perhaps if he were to find this person he felt as if he would be one step closer to achieving his dream. As he was quite sure that for a moment that his Crest Worm had been been reanimated as a living being. "Very interesting indeed" the aged monster mused to himself.

* * *

Mal arrived at the Emiya residence about three hours later than when he had left, Mal had effectively confirmed that the longer you left the organism dead the hard it became to reanimate it as a living being. Still this was the first step of practical progress that he had made. And the boy felt rather pleased with himself with what he had accomplished during the day, still he was unsure of how Kiritsugu would react to it but he had been effective in reanimating a dead bird as well. Mal had immediately disposed of it like he had done with the worm but this time was so that he could demonstrate what he had been able to do to Kiritsugu.

It was when he entered the residence and saw Kiritsugu looking at him with a serious expression that he knew something was amiss "Malekith" Kiritsugu referred to him using the full name instead of the abbreviation. "We need to talk."

Mal nodded "Understood" he replied in a mature manner. He then held the dead bird out in front of himself and then instructed the man who had adopted him "Watch" he stated in a voice that brooked no argument.

The Dead bird had been badly damaged this time but that was so Mal could demonstrate what he was performing better. No doubt the Kiritsugu's eyes narrowed as Mal poured forth dark energy into the broken form of the bird that convulsed as if in pain. Mal continued to pour more energy into it, willing severed arteries and veins shut, forcing blood to clot and muscles remit. Once this was finished the bird started to breathe once more as it got up and began chirping.

"Impossible" Kiritsugu breathed not believing what he had just witnessed. The man now looked Mal in the eye as he asked "How can you perform the Heaven's Fell the Third True Magic?"

* * *

 **So how did you like it?**

 **By the way Shirou only has a tiny portion of those four winds of Magic so he is not OP...yet. Still I decided it would be a good idea for at least Nagash's wind and Malekith's one to drag some of their Incarnates memories with them. By the Way Shirou will be seeing that of both just Nagash's will be a lot more than Malekith's as he struggled the most. Still though I decided against having him see one of Nagash's memories as that would be too much even by my standards so I settled on a scene from the Sundering were Malekith faced off against his mother. Still I was really, really tempted for him to wake up hearing himself being referred to as Nagash and calling himself that but that name can't be used as an abbreviation as you saw Kiritsugu calls him Mal in public (That is going to be his name in School)**

 **As for the Warhammer sorcery that the boy just performed while he may not have access to all of the memories and powers Shirou/Mal has access to all of the knowledge that Nagash and Malekith possessed meaning that with practice as he had been doing he could reanimate living beings like the Witch King did in book Three of the End times when he had to save/resurrect Imrik. Given the Nasuverse Law on Magic he performed a very bad and perverse form of the Third Magic if you could even call it that. Still it is something the Magus Killer could work with. Also I have no idea who Shirou could be paired with for this fic or which route I should use as a base as I plan to do at least an arc or two before the Grail War begins. By the Way I while Shirou is affected by Nagash's and Malekith's personalities due to a tiny part of them being imbued with the reduced winds of Shyish and Ulgu, Shirou/Mal will still be trying to become a Hero of Justice, just that he will be trying to become a hero of _his_ justice more than anyone else's. Not sure about where to go from here as you can see Moriathi Kiritsugu believes was a Sealing Designate, (Actually I'm not sure if the Mage association would be able to deal with her unless they had a practitioner of true magic aiding them.)'**

 **Still I am unsure whether I should have Shirou go to Clock Tower to learn or just ignore them entirely and deal with any enforcers the mage association sends or Executioners the Church may send. Though I do have an excellent Idea what he could do to a Dead Apostle after he gains more control over the wind of Shyish.**

 **Anyway if there was anything you would like to add please feel free leave a review all feedback is welcome and I would appreciate the help. Please note that constructive criticism is appreciated flaming is not, so unless you have a fic with more than fifty favourites please refrain from being a negative and abusive. Also if you want to comment on any bad grammar feel free to become my Beta otherwise please refrain from mentioning it.**

 **Anyway I hope you enjoyed it because I enjoyed writing it**

 **See you later.**


	2. Chapter 01: Starting afresh

**Truthfully I did not expect to get more than five followers thank you all of you you followed and favourited my first fic, you have my gratitude. Any I got so pumped that I decided that I needed to write the next chapter. I do plan on having an ark at least before the Grail War so it will take some time to get to Servant's coming but gives me more room for character development. As I stated before Shirou is being influenced by the fragments of Nagash's soul and that of Malekith's so while he is still trying to replicate the smile he saw on Kiritsugu's face he will have a much darker tone to his personality. Anyway I hope you ejnoy.**

* * *

" _Ever since that day my heart simply couldn't accept it. This fake life I was never able to fit into. All the time that was lost. These false memories planted in me giving me a life as one of the herd. And yet, the truth continues to guide me toward itself. That's right. It wasn't me who was wrong. It was the world. The world has to change so I will change it._ " Lelouch Lamperouge, Code GEASS: Lelouch of the Rebellion

* * *

"The Third Magic" Emiya Kiritsugu breathed as he saw what is adopted son had just performed. " _No_ " the Magus killer corrected himself. " _Not the Third Magic, this was less of a healing of the soul and more of repairing the body and dragging the soul back into it_ " he observed. "Malekith" Kiritsugu addressed the red haired boy who looked up at the Magus Killer rather proud of himself.

"Yes old man?" Emyia Malekith asked in a rather innocent tone. He did not refer to Kiritsugu as father thought that was mainly due to the Magus Killer's personal request "did you see it?" he asked. While at times the boy acted rather mature it was when he felt as if he had accomplished something rather tremendous that he did act a little childish and innocent. Well boys would be boys they supposed.

"Listen Malekith, what I'm about to tell is "You must never let another Magus especially any important ones see you perform such at thing." Kiritsugu instructed.

Confusion was shown on Mal's face before he slowly nodded in acceptance "May I ask why?" he requested, Though Kiritsugu believed that the boy would definitely by dissatisfied if he did not provide a suitable explanation.

"The Mage Association has a particular title they call a Sealing Designate" Kiritsugu explained. "It is supposedly the highest honour a Magus can obtain." Seeing his son's eyes narrow it was clear that the boy knew there was more to the title than what had just been said. "As you probably just guessed there is more to the title than it being for renown." The Magus Killer sighed wondering whether or not he should tel Mal about it, Logic won the internal argument as the boy seemed to be very mature and would be able to understand what Kiritsugu as attempting to inform him. "A Sealing Designate" Kiritsugu began before sighing "a Sealing Designate is someone who possesses thaumaturgical skills that cannot be obtained by simple study, thus the Mage Association goes to great lengths to Secure all those who are branded as Sealing Designates" he explained.

At this a spark of outrage and defiance was lit in Mal's eyes lighting "I will not serve them" the boy hissed "I bend knee to no authority but my own." It seemed that whatever his mother was like perhaps even with the loss of his memories Mal possessed a similar disposition thanks to her tinkering, Kiritsugu from what he had heard of the Woman certainly wouldn't put it past her. His own Father had been a sealing Designate and was a rather remorseless person who was responsible for the death's of many people, Emiya Norikata was also responsible for setting his son Kiritsugu on the path of becoming the Magus Killer.

"Only the less unfortunate one's are allowed to live" Kiritsugu informed his son surprising the boy yet the Magus Killer could see the relief in Mal's eyes at the prospect of not having to serve anyone. "They seek to obtain your flesh and blood so threat they may preserve and study your potential. Genuine Sealing Designates are rare unfortunately with what you just did they might place one on you seeing as that is near to sorcery, that is considered True Magic.

"It is Sorcery" the Boy answered without thinking the words flowing through him. "What the use of Spiritual Healing cannot repair Sorcery can reanimate, like I just showed you."

Kiritsugu's eyes narrowed "That just makes it all the more important that you hide it from other's Magi jealousy guard their Secrets and are quick to capitalise on others if the chance occurs." the Magus Killer explained.

Mal gave a thoughtful frown "So I should kill anyone who is related to the moonlit world if they see my experimenting or practicing my craft?" he asked in all seriousness.

Kiritsugu blinked at what his adopted son had just asked. Given the boys temperament he could expect the boy to actually consider killing them "Yes" Kiritsugu answered after brief pause "That or you could be able to hypnotise them, tough being a Magus they may be able to resit it's effects." he explained. "The last way is to have a way to convince them not to report you, perhaps something that would make them lose face if t ever was revealed or something they did that was forbidden and would have the Mage Association's Enforcers of Church's Executioner's come after them" the Magus Killer informed his adopted son who nodded in understanding..

"They will discover it eventually" Mal said with a surety in his voice. "So how should I prepare to _deal_ with them?" he asked, for Mal it was not a question of being discovered by the Mage Association, to him it was a question of _when_ would he be discovered by the Mage Association and how much time did he have to prepare so he could deal with them as effectively as possible. This mindset was one that Kiritsugu himself had so the man could understand what Mal was meaning.

"Well Mal" he stated in a relaxed tone, "we might as well get comfortable as we continue talking, I for one can confirm that both of us got a long night ahead of ourselves" he stated.

"I will be willing to make any necessary adjustments to my daily routine" Mal replied in a serious and mature tone. It seemed that the boy was rather fixated on preventing this, not that such a desire was a genuinely bad thing to possess.

"Well Mal, from the notes of yours i've read you don't know much about traditional Thaumaturgy" Kiritsugu stated "I myself am not a traditional user of it either. However I can cover the Basics for you, though I'll only explain the theories tonight." he stated. "Tomorrow we can attempt on the practicals" he explained "But that is only if you are a good learner and willing to do what I say." His son Emiya Mal nodded in acceptance "Alright" Kiritsugu stated "Where to begin."

* * *

That night had started Malekith's introduction into Thaumaturgy and how he used it. Kiritsugu noticed that the boy at first was not utilising his Magic Circuits properly and instead had been using makeshift from circuits made from cannibalising his nerves. Now due to Mal's unique magic this was not really a problem as he could shrug off the pain and repair the damage in his rather violent and forceful use of _sorcery_ as he put it. Still After about three months with Malekith perfecting crafting about six perfect Circuits from his own Nerves Kiritsugu decided to inform him that it was time for him to activate his actual Magic Circuits. Mal had been rather disappointed for lack of a better word that Kiritsugu had not informed him earlier but accepted the Magus Killer's reasoning without further complaint. Still While Kiritsugu had been able to activate Mal's Magical Circuits he had no way of actually discovering Mal's Element and Origin.

Still reading some of Mal's research notes into hi brand of _sorcery_ as it were Kiritsugu came across an interesting concept that he could like to test. It involved the restoration of Cells to their prior stated and if they could manage to use this the Magus Killer may be able to pass down his Magical Crest at least to his adopted son. Still Mal had not been too keen on the idea mainly because he had not worked using a human before but decided to practice and research it further. Mind you the Emiya Residence now had become a fully respectable Workshop with the wooden Structure being replaced with one of Stone though Kiritsugu always felt the darkness and the high sealing that his son liked were rather disturbing.

Still that didn't get in the way of Mal's work, finally after about three more months of research and practice the Boy could confidently claim that he could repair Kiritsugu's Magic Crest. Still Kiritsugu did not possess the Means to transfer it. This meant only one thing, he had to go and get in contact with someone who could. Still that could be a problem as the Magus Killer had few friends and very many enemies. Mal had been able to repair the Magic Crest and about that, the boy had used most of his enrgy to manage it so Kiritsugu kind of felt obliged to him to transfer the Crest.

Finally The Magus Killer came to a decision, while he didn't really want to have to rely on an old favour, this person was someone who was also wanted by the Mage Association and was someone who would not betray him to them, htough she would be surprised at having to perform such a mundane task for a Sealing Designate such as herself. But she also would be extremely interested in any of Mal's Research notes. It was either her or go to a person who owed him several favours in the Mage Association and they were people he was trying to avoid meeting Malekith. "Fine" the Magus killer said to himself as he got out of bed that morning writing a note explaining where he was going and what Mal should do. With that Kiritsugu departed the Emiya residence. Intent on meeting his hard to find target. HE also made a note that she may attempt to steel his Magic Crest, Well if She ever met Mal, she would be disabused of that notion, the boy seemed to be a rather creative when it came to revenge and boy he sure could hold a grudge as it nothing else mattered.

* * *

Emiya Malekith woke up confused as the boy was rather confused as he couldn't sense his adoptive father's presence. " _Perhaps the old man needed some time out_ " Mal thought as he walked to the kitchen and made himself some rice. Mal had noticed the note and had decided that he should read it before he resumed consuming the rice.

- _Mal, While I am grateful that you have managed to repair my Magic Crest I still need to transfer it to you and I do not possess the means_ _or magic to_ _do so, As for that I have caught wind of a Sealing Designate that may be willing to cooperate for the right price. Still I need you to be prepared is she tries anything, that spell you were working on that can suck the life and soul out of anything living comes to mind, be prepared for betrayal. Also by the way take care while I am away._ _-Kiritsugu_

Mal stared long and hard at the note he had just read wondering on how this would effect what he would do next. The young unorthodox Magus noted that it didn't have an immediate effect on any of his activities so Mal decided that he would use some of the time he had for himself to explore the city by walking around it and seeing everything there was to see. Now for someone who was Seven years old this may have been a problem but Mal was not any ordinary child. Not in the least.

He also had decided that he would pick up anything interesting so that he could experiment on it with as his use of the Thaumaturgy he had been taught and the types of other Magic he used had increased rather well. Still Mal had noticed that he could only really use Thaumaturgy related to Shadows, Fire and Metals but for him currently that was good enough, the other types of Magic that he had been researching more than made up for it.

Still his adoptive father Kiritsugu Emiya had told him that Thaumaturgy did not work that way but even he could not deny that Malekith's method got results and the process was rather interesting. Still it was another reason why if he was discovered that the Mage Association would place a Sealing Designate on him. Still Mal was one who refused to let that ruin his day every time he woke up. Still that didn't mean that he was not preparing for it eventuality.

Malekith had washed and cleaned up the instruments he had used. While that residence was now Made of Stone he was rather fond of the sliding doors and the design of the previous residence so Kiritsugu who also was fond of it kept that structural design. Now however the Residence was more suited for one to practice Magecraft. Kiritsugu had informed Malekith of the Bounded Field he had placed up. Mal's own training in that regard needed some work however he was able to create ones that would fill other's with a sense of Dread and inexplicable fear if they were uninvited or he did not desire their presence.

Well almost everyone there was a certain youth who referred to herself as his big sister who liked Tigers and who's name was Taiga who somehow could get into the Residence without any problems what so ever. Mal found Fujimura Taiga to be rather eccentric as she was always full of energy, her old man seemed to be responsible for the underground dealings in this area, yet he seemed to be of a decent sort too. Taiga was another reason Mal decided to leave. HE could only tolerate the Girls antics so far until he couldn't stand anymore and left. But he was rather interested in her cursed Shinai if only so that he may make use of it in his experiments. The idea of making her beloved Shinai even more cursed than it was before did appeal in a rather high priority manner to the boys morbid sense of humour. Still despite this Mal was fond of the Girl even if she drove him over the edge.

As Mal exited the Residence he did recall that other strange Memory he had still it was not really better than the last one but it was of a more peculiar type.

* * *

" _I suddenly feel inadequate" Mal found himself admitting to his unknown companion as he looked at the scene before him._

" _Not even the Tower of Hoeth can rival it." Mal did not know what his companion was talking about yet he could see the scene before him was truly one of a kind, could appreciate what he was viewing._

 _The view before the two of them had once been a mighty mountain of the likes Mal had never seen before. Now it was a fortress of the like that belonged in stories. Uncountable battlements and leagues of crenellations wound their way up the lower slopes. As the Mountain narrowed, jutting struts by the hundreds marked it's flanks. Windows that were in the tens of thousands gleamed with power lit by witch-light. The summit was clad in a permanent cloud glowing fitfully with magical energy._

 _It was surrounded by rings of walls that made any of the gates Mal had seen look like mere mounds of dirt erected between children at play. In the depth of the crater stretched an inland sea, the waters murky, bubbling, tainted by unnatural means. No doubt nothing good ever lived in that lake. Anything that was good had perished here or had left. The Former more so than the Latter was what Mal's opinion was what had transpired._

 _This land was so filled with death that it pervaded even the air. The jutting stones had rictus faces, plants resembled dangling bones and the only flowers that grew here were black headed roses with thorn like daggers. The wind hissed ghostly warnings on the edge of one's hearing that might have just been the fluttering of thousands of tattered banners that decorated the shoreline over the corse of a millennia of what may have been conquest or despotism. Arches of bone grew out from the bare rock, like an ossuary avenue that led to the leagues of the uttermost gates of the fortress._

 _Nagasshizar the fortress was named Mal did not know why he knew the name nor why he felt a sense of pride as if it were his accomplishment when he looked upon the fortress. Why was this when the Fortress was named after another, Nagash._

 _Thinking the name sent a chill up the boys spine as it somehow felt dreading yet familiar and belonging, still he shuddered._

" _Have you never been here before?" his companion asked. "Never been tempted to look upon this grandest of evil works?" Mal did not know if the other man was mocking him or just asking a question._

" _I had other matters to keep me occupied" Mal found himself replying though he felt that he had dared not come here before due to reasons of both vanity and security."Besides" Mal began "what purpose would it serve?" he asked rhetorically. "There is nothing here but the mindless dead serving the commands uttered three ages past" he stated._

" _Is that so?" his companion asked before with a gesture the two of them were at a Gatehouse one of four that guarded the approaches to the citadel._

 _The gate itself was black that shone despite it's colour and it towered over the two of them. Towers that were of the colour of bone flanked it each grander than anything Mal had seen in life. On the battlements above stood motionless skelaton soldiers that were beside war machines that were constructed of fused bones and sinew. These were dwarfed by the rows of giant beings also constructed by bones and held together by magical golden bands._

" _You mean to enter?" Mal found himself asking his companion "To what purpose?"_

" _To Show you the truth" his companion replied with an infuriating half smile that seemed to be unique to him and him alone._

" _Not walls alone protect this place" Mal found himself warning his companion "there are some powers here that even I would not to stir" he explained._

" _Did you think that the great Necromancer would lie dormant for eternity?" his unnamed companion asked rhetorically as he walked through._

 _Mal felt ashamed that he had hesitated and followed soon after. HE found his companion waiting for him on a road of brushed bone. "You mea to wake "Mal paused for a moment before finishing "him?" incredulity could be heard in his voice."You tell me that the End Times come, that Great Powers unite to bend their will to the enslavement of the world and you seek to bring further ruin upon us.?" Mal accused more than asked._

" _The gods must returned" his companion stated leaning on his staff for support out of habit rather than exhaustion. "The Gates of Mirai must be opened" he explained. "And there is only one that can wrest control of the underworld from Ereth Khial." Mal had no idea what his companion was talking about, he didn't even know who his companion was to begin with._

" _You are mad" Mal snarled at his companion. "Even as the tide of Chaos comes in, you would raise a cliff of undead to crush us against?"_

" _Not so" his companion replied as the two of them travelled further into the heart of this place. "The Dead do not change he explained. He that raised this citadel desires nothing but a world of dead enslaved to his will" the mans stated. "The Powers of Chaos thrive on the changing ambitions of mortals, to provide the answers to questions only mortals ask. The dead have no need of rage, ambition, despair or charisma."_

" _Two forcers, opposed" Mal found himself muttering "And what of those caught in-between?" he asked "You choose to be a puppet of the great necromancer rather than a mutated spawn of chaos?"_

" _Wee need a bulwark against Chaos" his companion replied. "I have done what I can to prepare the humans, the dwarfs will do as they always have done and protect their own. In Lustria the great minds of the Old Ones' servants account nothing for our survival in their astronomical equations. This place holds the greatest chance of resisting the onslaught to come." he argued._

 _The Two of them ascended level after level passing thousands of the damned as they waited for their creator or laboured in mines and forges to furnish war gear to an army three thousand years in the making. "He will attempt the Great Ritual of Awakening" Mal stated as the two of them finally reached the throne room. It was a titanic chamber that filled Mal with a sense of dread. He could feel the Master of this places power pulsing on the edge of his senses._

" _I have put in motion a series of events that will bring him back." Mal's companion confessed._

" _I am prideful" Mal admitted "your arrogance puts mine to shame." Mal was definitely clear about his position on this matter. "These are not forces we can control" he hissed._

" _When you sought to shut down the vortex and bring about the tide of chaos did you think twice?" his companion challenged Mal suddenly as bitter as he was. "A deed so insane that even now we must deal with it's consequences." he informed Mal. "It is not pride but desperation that pushes me to these extreme deeds" he explained._

" _My past actions do not alter the folly of your current plans" Mal found himself snarling in anger. "I will not allow this" he stated._

 _It was then that he noticed the almost imperceptible tremble of the hall. The winds of magic that had been so sluggish started to swirl, eddying around the throne. The acolytes that were the only living things in this entire place gave gasps of surprise and fear as the dark winds caused the skulls on the throne to begin chattering their teeth, the echoes of their chorus a hideous cacophony that filled the immense hall._

" _Too late" Mal's companion whispered and he sounded extremely tired and resigned than he had before._

 _More brands on the walls burst into life, the blaze of a thousand torchlights brought fresh horror to the scene. Every surface of the chamber brought a fresh horror to the scene, the surface was now covered in runes and hieroglyphs, which now danced in the flame light with a life of their own, melting and reforming to channel the winds of magic into the throne. The rumbling grew stronger with each passing minute._

" _All is in hand" Mal's companion tried to assure him. "I have made sure that the Great Ritual of Awakening will not succeed" he stated "not in it's entirety." Mal was confused as to what he was talking about. "Nagash will return, strong enough to thwart Chaos for a time, yet not so strong that we will not be able to undo what has been done." he explained._

 _Mal and Teclis saw an apparition on the throne, wraith like and terrifying, yet for Mal undeniable familiar. While for some reason he and his companion could not be seen for an instant Mal felt that the pale green light of those eyes perceived him and recognised him. There was no sign of life in those eyes, no expression that could be read. The visitation lasted only a moment before disappearing._

 _It was then that Mal and his companion felt the massive explosion of power that also felt oddly familiar that swept through the hall extinguishing every flame, hurling the acolytes to the floor. There was nothing else in the Chamber, nothing physical at least but Mal sensed a pulsing in his head, as of a deep voice vibrating inside his mind. The Language Mal at first did not know but it slowly came to him, still Mal was able to recognise the concept of what was being said far faster than he was when it came to knowing what the language and words entailed. "_ **I RETURN** _" a voice that Mal found was almost his own declared._

 _Without a though or word between himself or his companion Mal and the other being that referred to itself as not human fled._

* * *

Mal had wondered why those words that monstrosity had said resounded with him and why in some moments he found himself thinking them, oddly for the boy he found that if felt rather fitting. Still he had found at least several things he had already collected and froze, modern technology was a wonderful thing. The cellar heh ad transformed into a freezer that he could store samples in. While Kiritsugu was not too happy about this development the old man did compliment him on his use of incorporating modern technology into his magic. Still now Mal had done behind his adoptive fathers back and made some familiar's using the experimental necromancy that he been studying.

It was then that Shirou heard the sounds of someone bing struck, more importantly it sounded like someone was being cornered by a group. Walking up carefully Mal came upon a scene where four boys about at least several years older than him were bating up on a girl about his age and a boy who was a little younger than him. They both had brown hair and were being pressured by the four delinquents.

"Alright Mitsuzuri, We're going to give you and your brother one chance to apologise for that comment the brat made earlier." the one who seemed to be speaking said. Mal noticed that this delinquent was not the leader, so who was? They were smart enough to lead but not strong or powerful enough to do so openly. Mal's eyes trailed to the one who was furthest to the side and at the back. From his posture and demeanour he would have been the leader from what Mal perceived of him.

"Stay away from my sister" the younger boy said with the ferociousness of that only a young child who did not know the danger they were in would have.

The lead but not leading delinquent sneered at him "and what are you going to do about it huh?" he asked as he swiped the boy aside sending the boy onto the pavement. "That's right you going to crawl there and cry." at this one of his fellows kicked the boy who was on the ground as the four of them started laughing. As one of the other's pinned the boy's older sister to the wall.

"I hope you are going to be less of a pushover than your little brother" he sneered "I prefer it when they struggle, it makes their pain all the more enjoyable."

With this Mal had had enough. He had been tempted to walk past and ignore this but the memory he had upon first awaking stopped him "c _ould I smile like that?_ " he had asked himself. Well here was a chance for him to find out. Picking up a stone that was discarded the boy reinforced it before he pegged it at the temple of the delinquent who was pressing his arm against the throat of the girl who had been called Mitsuzuri. Unfortunately he had not been holding back on the amount of force he had used to throw the stone nor on how hard he had reinforced it so there was a sickening crunch and a large spray of blood as the delinquent dropped to the pavement either in critical condition of badly damaged.

While most people would have felt horrified at what he had just done, the girl did so as she screamed. Mal only felt a sense of righteousness in himself that he was justified in his actions. Already holding another stone and casually tossing it in his hands he spoke "Did you enjoy that?" he asked "You seemed to be enjoying being the one to deliver pain, I wonder if you are capable of appreciating it as well?" Mal's tone was sinister and merciless as he pegged the other rock into the leg of the one who he believed was the leader that elicited a scream from the youth as the stone had been embedded deep within his leg.

"Son of a bitch" the Delinquent hissed and screamed in pain as he clutched the now bleeding leg as he had collapsed. "What are you waiting for kill the little shit."

Mal's smile grew to match his tone appearing both malicious and merciless "I do so enjoy it when they struggle" he spoke mirroring what the one who lay at the least unconscious at the most dead had said. "It makes their pain all the more enjoyable" It seemed at his last words the other two lost their nerve and made a bolt for it. Picking up to more larger stone Mal reinforced those and pegged them at the fleeing delinquents backs sounding with a series of sickening crunch with each mark hitting home snapping the two delinquent's spines. Mal looked to see if the girl was alright but saw that this had been too much for her and that she had fainted.

"You son of a bitch" the remaining delinquent snarled but Mal could smell urine from him indicating that he had pissed his pants "I'll make you pay for this he snarled."

"Then you area fool" Mal stated as he walked up towards him "I brought you to justice for what you were doing, I am the one who is in the right and you need to be punished." If Mal had noticed that his eyes had started to glow a pale blue as he smiled viscously " _AND WHAT BETTER PUNISHMENT THAN FOR YOU TO PAY IN FLESH, THAT I SHALL DO SO AT MY OWN LEISURE AND YOU? YOU WILL HOWL._ " Mal declared unaware of how his voice had temporarily changed as he had made this declaration. Still he kicked the head of the crippled delinquent effectively knocking him out. Before he went to the other delinquents and took all of the money they had one them and placed it in the unconscious girls pocket. Then without much effort he lifted the lead delinquent and the one who was most certainly dead and vanished using his knowledge of shadows to leave no trace of his involvement.

Mal when he had finally entered the workshop he decided to strap the still live one and cut out his tongue so he didn't have to listen to any words the victim might say. Mal also seated that one keeping him asleep as he had decided to sample the dead one taking him apart bit by bit and carefully placing muscles tissue and organs into separate metal containers that he systematically froze and placed within the freezer for preservation. Still he was rather pleased with the sample of human skin he had obtained, though at moment Mal was unsure of what he should do with it. Still he was interested in the reanimating spell winch was why he had the bones neatly piled together.

Focusing he remembered from his notes the incantation and the process and slowly began to use it. The process was rather simple to him, his adoptive father could not make heads nor tails of it but it seemed that from what he had practiced so far, this brand of necromancy was superior to the brands that Emiya Kiritsugu knew of. Still Mal hadn't desired to constructs a human shaped construct and instead had broken the bones and used it to create various small sized familiar that now scuttled about the room waiting for his command. Mal felt rather pleased with himself for this as now heh ad familiars as Kiritsugu had called them that could monitor everything in the city for him.

Now all he had to do was figure out how to utilise this on a much larger scale. He had already figured out how to manipulate shadows which had aided him in his research as Mal could now operate with more tools than just what he could hold in his hands. Also he had discovered that he could deconstruct metallic objects, while he had not yet mastered reforming them, Mal had realised that the separate elements used for the metals for were valuable in his experiments however Mal was vexed that he could not reconstruct them properly. Though Mal did note that if he used the structural analysis that Kiritsugu had taught him he was able to understand everything about the object down to its personal history and usage. Now this He knew was not normal but had not informed his adoptive father because Mal desired not to be any type of burden to the man so he had simply not mentioned it for the time being.

Mal smirked wickedly as he finished his work, it seemed that the delinquent had woken to find that he had been rendered mute. The same delinquent was now struggling against his bonds. Making wordless cries do to the fact that Mal had cut out his tongue. "Please save your breathe" Mal instructed in a slightly disinterested voice before a wicked and viscous smile grew onto his feature "you'll be needing it for screaming." with this explanation the shadows around his form writhed and dug into the parts of the body where the arteries were so he could place some of the fluids that he had concocted within the body to see how it reacted. Mal found the high pitched screams of the delinquent oddly satisfying. Something he would need to check up on later because that was definitely not normal. However now he had _justice_ to enact on his choice of victim.

* * *

A woman with not too short brown hair and eyes who wore glasses and a white shirt sat at the table across from Kiritsugu "My, my" she stated "I never imagined that you and I would ever meet again." she said in a slightly playful tone. "After all it is not everyday that the legendary Magus Killer comes asking a for a favour that only I could grant." It was clear that the woman was definitely enjoying this.

"I wouldn't have come if I could afford not to" Emiya Kiritsugu stated. "However due to the nature of those involved I decided that it would be best to go to someone who is less involved with the Mage Association." he explained.

"Is that so?" she asked. "While I do admit you and I have worked well together in the past, I never imagined to see you so tired, was the Grail War that stressful that it took that heavy a toll on you?" she asked.

"Unfortunately so" Kiritsugu replied. "As you can see my prize from the Grail War was not one that the victor would expect."

"Most of your Magic Circuits are irreparable damaged though for some reason your Crest seems to be in a workable condition" his associate noted "care to explain that?"

"I found who I suspect to be the child of Sealing Designate , like yourself" the Magus Killer explained.

"The child of a sealing designate?" the woman asked in a curious tone. "What makes you say that?" In truth as a Sealing Designate herself she was interested to here what the Magus killer had to say.

"He is capable of borderline Sorcery in that he can repair anything that is dead and bring it back using what he calls sorcery." Kiritsugu explained. "The process he uses is similar to necromancy but the concept is less intricate."

"Truly interesting indeed" the Woman replied now giving a smile "I can see why you came to me, it would be a shame for the Mage Association to get their hands on him." she stated.

"I take it you want something tangible in return for this" Kiritsugu stated although this person did owe him, he knew that she would expect something in return for her services.

"You wound me Emiya, truly do you think so little of one such as myself.?" the woman asked in mock shock and sadness.

"Yes" Kiritsugu answered. "There is a good reason why you area Sealing Designate and there is also a good reason as to why you have not been caught despite your use of your sisters name to obtain money and resources, even though it will attract the Mage Associations attention eventually and lead to your capture." he stated with brutal honest.

"Well at least you haven't gotten soft despite your condition" the other Magus noted "However you are right I do desire some compensation, though I will say it is not too much to ask" she explained.

"I have a feeling that what you are about to ask is anything but that" Kiritsugu replied. "Well then out with it."

"Well I'd like to meet this child you were talking about and have "the brown haired Magus stated. "After all I'd like to meet the child that would become a Sealing Designate before he even became a teenager."

Kiritsugu waited for a few moments looking into the woman's eyes only because she was wearing her glasses. "Very well then" he stated "I accept your terms but be warned Touka Aozaki if you so much as try anything, I will show why you should not cross me." Kiritsugu promised.

the Sister of the Blue smirked "I looked forward to it" she stated. "So when do we begin?"

* * *

 **So yeah I decided to add in the Puppet Master for now, I am going to enjoy wiring her reaction to Shirou's/Mal's use of Magic. Also I will stated that he is being influenced by Malekith's and Nagash's personalities so yeah he did just cripple three people and kill the first one without so much as batting an eye because he is still distorted, more so than cannon because of the Winds of Magic within him. Perhaps I should have something else happen but I am unsure,. Also I have something special in store for the delinquent that Mal/Shirou is experimenting on. By the Way he is learning at a fast rate do to the changes the winds of Magic and the two fragments of Nagash's and Malekith's Souls are influencing him. While he is not currently evil, he is rather merciless to those who would hurt others as you saw.**

 **Anyway if you have any ideas, feedback or suggestion that you would like to share feel free to leave a review or PM me as feedback is appreciated. Though I will ask that you leave a review most preferably as it is easier to sort that way.**

 **I hoped you enjoyed see you next time.**


	3. Chapter 02: Making contact

**Yeah sorry for not updating sooner a tone of things got up and come into my life getting in the way, just for you to know it was not work as I a still unemployed, it was family matters and that was all. which made it even more annoying as I was not even being payed for it. on a pulse side just last night I started playing a new pen and paper game, where the story teller is exceptional so there is some good stuff going on. however I am very sorry for not updating this sooner I was just a little stuck on how I should go about it and that's the sad truth of it. On a good note I did manage to finish it but it is slightly shorter than the other Chapters also thanks to all of you who reviewed I am really grateful for that. Anyway I hope you enjoy**

* * *

" _Even though I told him to hold each and every soul dear. Because you hold great power you gradually fail to understand the importance of things that cannot be recovered. When it is realized and you lose your support...how many times have I given you and the others the same warning?_ " -Undertaker, Black Butler

* * *

Touka Aozaki the sister of the Magus known as 'the Blue' was rather surprised at the Magus Killer's request, "You want me to to remove the Magic Crest that you have and give it to your son?" she asked just to confirm it. Emiya Kiritsugu gave her a nod "you are really desperate to keep the boy out of the Mage Association's radar" Touka said with a smirk. She had been known to steal the Crests of families, if Kiritsugu came to her for something like this he must really consider keeping this boy under the radar. Then again Touka herself needed to keep those whose Crests she stole alive and While he may be alive right now the Magus Killer looked like he didn't have much longer left, besides while the use of time manipulation was something the Sealing Designate wouldn't mind having in her arsenal she was far more interested in the boy Kiritsugu had been talking about. This boy Kiritsgugu had yet to name sounded fascinating and Touka briefly even considered taking the boy on as an apprentice, the sister of 'the Blue' decided to come to that decision after she had seen this boy. Crippled or not Kiritsugu was still the Magus Killer and that made him extremely dangerous as this could be a trap that he had set for her.

Kiritsugu regarded Touka's reaction and found that the 'Puppet Master' was unreadable as usual but he was sure that she wouldn't cross him at this point in time. Touka Aozaki was not someone who was well loved by any, not even her own sister Aoko Aozaki who was the wielder of the 'Fifth Magic', though there was a very good reason for that. "When will you be ready?" he asked the 'Puppet Master' not asking the Sealing Designate to come immediately.

"We could go right now, if you want" Touka suggested "the sooner you get this over and done with, the better for you." The Sealing designate sighed "besides I find myself eager to meet this child you speak of" she explained. Kiritsugu didn't even need to speak to her for Touka to get the message. The Magus held her arms in in politely "don't worry I am not planning anything just yet" she informed him "that and I have little desire to be the latest victim of your Mystic Code" she explained. "The Archibald heir did pay me handsomely to enable him to move his arms and yet that was all I could to for him" Touka stated confirming for Kiritsugu that she had been the one to aid Lord El-Melloi in granting him the ability to move some parts of his body again. "I certainly wouldn't like for all my Magic Circuits to be fired like that and become irreparable." Touka knew that trying to cross Kiritsugu was not a good idea or even let him suspect that you are going to, the man was ruthless even more so that she was and the 'Puppet Master' had quite the reputations among other Magus's herself.

"So will you do it? Kiritsugu asked. This was not ;can you do it' which would have been easier to answer as it left the option of saying that she was capable of doing it but wouldn't, this was far more binding. Which was why Kirittsugu had used it.

Touka slowly nodded before she replied "Yes" she answered "as I said before I am rather keen on meeting this child you spoke of" Touka repeated what she had said previously. That and the fact Touka Aozaki was extremely interested to see what made this child's parent a Sealing Designate and how it could be of use to her in the near to distant future. But Kiritsugu already knew about that least fact of information after all was said and done Touka Aozaki was still very much a Magus.

* * *

Emiya Mal had found that the results of his work were a bit lacking. The delinquent he had acquired had not lasted long as the youth's pain tolerance was rather low, however on the bright side Mal found that the sole thing he had been able to test on the delinquent had been partially interesting as it caused the youth's body to literally burn up from the inside as it turned out that that liquid solution Mal had made was had a rather unique and instant effect when it cam into contact with certain elements. All of which were readily supplied for in the human blood stream, making it a lethal type of poison even if it were to only clip you. But Mal had been hoping for a more interesting reaction, still this only mean that he would need to go-

Mal realised that he was excited and had desired to test it out right away to see how how much he needed to dilute it for it not to be lethal but had caught himself and stopped that train of thought there. If he did that he wouldn't be _helping_ other's instead he would be hurting them and causing them pain. How could he replicate the smile Kiritsugu had when the man had saved him from the fire if he was not _helping_ people?

Mal found that he had no answer to that question, so he decided to stop wit h that train of thought. Though the boy did give himself a pat on the back as he had saved someone or two someone's today, the fact that he had killed and brutally injured those who were hurting those two kids slipped Mal's mind as he reasoned that ' _helping_ someone meant _not_ _helping_ someone else' so he had decided to _help_ that girl and her brother and _not to help_ those delinquents who were causing them trouble.

Even though he had gone a little overboard the experience taught Mal how much force he could afford to use so for the boy it was not a total loss for him. Now he knew how to help save people better, which meant that he would need to keep a better eye on how he went about it as Mal knew that killing people was against the law. This did bring up the question of was he a villains who could no longer help anyone because he had broken the law, Mal reasoned that he wasn't due to the fact that those delinquents had also been breaking it. Mal believed that it was no crime to stop a crime therefore he was not one of the villains, therefore he could continue to _help_ people. It was a twisted and warped sense of logic at best.

"To _help_ someone, means that you have to _not_ _help_ someone else" Mal repeated to himself "if the choice was put to me between _helping_ or _not helping_ whole group of people that I don't know but are still innocent while _helping_ or _not helping_ someone I know and care about, who would I choose to _help_ and who would I choose to _not to help_?" he asked himself. "Surely I would _help_ the person I knew over the lives of complete strangers" Mal said to himself "or would the higher amount of human lives that I _helped_ matter more?" he asked. "Can you really weigh human lives in just numbers or is there more to making one person's life worth more than another's?" This was the question that buzzed around in Mal's head as he decided to take a short nap after he had cleaned up his mess and _removed_ any evidence of his activities. Somehow he hadn't found the answer to that question and more disturbingly his dreams were far from the relaxing kind that the boy needed.

* * *

 _The dragon that Mal rode on, yes that was the only thing this six limbed flying reptile could be, lashed out with it's tail smashing into the unfortunate horse that was it's target. The magnificent mount was turned into a pulp of blood and broken bones. The rider who appeared to be female was flung through the air and landed heavily her left leg twisting and giving way beneath he. Mal found himself or the person whose perspective he was viewing this from channelling a type of Magic. Mal found that it felt wrong or more to be more exact that it just felt dark in general as he prepared to unleash a blaze of energy to finish the woman off. A movement caught Mal's attention, there was a swiftly approaching bot against the clouds. He looked up to find a massive red dragon plunging towards him at top speed with a golden armoured figure on it's back._

" _Finally" Mal found himself saying as he turned his full undivided attention to this new advisory The boy found himself raising his voice in challenge as the figure approached on their own dragon, to Mal's surprise he found that his voice was a metallic roar that carried over the din of the battler." Come to me, Imrik!" he bade the newcomer naming them. "Come to me!" he challenged._

 _Below forces assumingly aligned with the newcomer Imrik surged forth into what Mal could assume were those to whom he was aligned. Mal found the black dragon he was riding on leaping to meet the golden figure's red one flying upwards towards it's red skinned kin at a faster pace than the other descended. The Red Dragon in reply roared in challenge as it plunged down towards them accepting the black one's challenge. The shock of the two Dragons colliding in mid air almost threw the one known as Imrik from his saddle throne. The two beasts of legend slammed into one another with a ferocious welter of claws and fangs. The Red dragon blasted fire out of its mouth that splashed across the black dragon and it's rider. Mal found himself laughing scornfully at this for some reason he believed that the fire was not capable of harming him, and yet against all reason Mal found that the fire didn't even faze him or the dragon which he rode.._

 _The Two Phantasmal Beasts parted and circled each other, gashes pouring blood from both. The golden figure that Mal had called Imrik had levelled his lancer aiming for what was Mal's chest. Mal foundhimself speaking a single word that held immense power and a shield of Magic appeared before him a blood red symbol that the boy found that he recognised could be seen on it's surface as it bombarded the one whom Mal had called Imrik, somehow blinding him._

 _Mal was almost upon his foe as the golden figure shook his head to clear away the effects of the dread rune. Just as Mal was about to strike the one Mal had found himself referring to as Imrik swung his lance as his dragon rolled to the right, the weapons shining tip scoring a visible wound across the flank of Mal's black dragon as the two of them passed overhead._

 _The black dragon Mal was riding turned swiftly almost catching the red one's tail in it's jaws. The Red dragon managed to avoid this attack by dipping in the air but it exposed it's golden armoured Rider to Mal's black dragon's raking claws. The one who had been called imrik and managed to bring up his golden shield just in time as hard as diamond claws ripped across the shield's surface as it's protective energies blazed._

 _Gliding towards the ground, the two Phantasmal beasts closed again, snarling and roaring. Fire sprang from Mal's sword, surrounding the one called Imrik with crackling intensity. The enchantments of his armour protected the golden figure from arms making the blue flames of the dragon to pass around him harmlessly. The red dragon grappled with the black one while they were still in mid air, the two Phantasmal Beast's long necks swaying as each sought to sing their fangs into the other. Claws raked back and forth sending scales and blood spilling to the ground. Mal noted absent mindedly that he was not even paying attention to this as his focus was on the golden armoured figure alone._

 _Bucking and twisting, the dragons descended, locked together by jaw and claw. Imrik cast aside his lance as he drew his sword just as Mal lashed out with his own. The two swords met in an explosion of lightning and blue fire. The shock threw back imrik arm and Mal capitalised on this and struck again finding himself amazed when his foe managed a last moment parry, turning aside Mal's blade as it screamed towards his foes head._

 _The two dragons did not give a single thought to their riders as they savaged each other. Imrik was tossed left and right as his red dragon struggled with Mal's black one, wings flapping and tails whipping. Mal clung to his golden reins with his shield hand, Mal noted that impossibly he had steam and smoke coming from his armour yet it was not because of the red dragons fire._

 _Imrik's gaze met Mal's own and the boy found himself hating this person more than anything else. He scorned the golden armed figure as he felt that this Imrik had stolen what was rightfully his. Mal then found himself pouring fourth this unbelievable amount of scorn in the form of a blood curse his eyes locked into the gaze of the golden figure. Charms that hanged on Imrik's armour warded away Mal's attack as they glowed. Again the golden armoured figure turned aside a stroke from Mal's sword that burned with blue flames as the two dragons locked in their own battle came close enough for Mal to strike at him._

 _The battle raged around them each side fighting even even harder and fiercer than they had just moments before. The two dragons in their frenzy trampled over friend and foe alike without distinction. None where even considered by the dragons or their Riders as the two behemoths trampled over both sides without even giving a first glance forget about a second._

 _The Golden figure kept his focus on Mal as he waited seeking an opening in which he could strike. When Mal's back Dragon reeled back from an attack from the red one Imrik seized his opportunity. The sword wreathed in lightning cut down into Mal's shoulder, biting deep with a scream of tearing metal. Mal felt some power or more likely magic that was in his armour exploding from his wounded limb and snaking up the sword that bit into his flesh._

 _The Red Dragon gave a how of pain as Mal's black dragon's claws found purchase it's neck. Jaw snapping, Imrik's mount seized the black dragon's wings in it's jaws biting through bone and sinew until the black dragon released it's neck in in a spasm of pain. Blood was gushing out of the red dragon's neck as it stumbled back leaving a stream of crimson on the earth._

 _Mal found himself wrenching on the chain of the black dragon's reins, the beast lunged at Imrik. It's jaws closed on the golden figure's arm teeth cracking against the enchanted armour. Imrik's sword tumbled out of his grasp, the straps of the golden figures harness parted as the black dragon shook it' head, dragging Imrik from the saddle throne and casting him to the ground._

 _Heaving in a gasping breathe the golden armoured figure pushed himself to his feet seeking his sword. Seeing a glitter of metal in a tussock not far away he set towards it, hand outstretched._

 _Mal wasted no time smashing his sword into the Imriks back launching him from the bloodied ground. The golden armoured crashed down amidst the bodies of his slain allies coming face to face with one whom he had knowns visage._

 _The Black Dragon struggled as Mal found himself trying to goad and steer it towards their fallen foe, the black dragon was eager to finish off against the red one who had withdrawn., limping heavily, flanks scored with dozens of ragged gashes. The black dragon fared little better, its wings were tattered and it's face face and neck were marked by claws and fangs._

 _Mal found that his will had prevailed and the black dragons head turned towards Imrik. Flapping it's tattered and ragged wing, the black dragon pounded forwards, jaws wide, dripping with saliva and blood, the red dragon's and it's own._

 _Imrik looked up, fear written across his face as the dragon's fangs reflected the gems of his armour, Mal found himself laughing in triumph._

* * *

Mal woke up from that dream in a foul mood. It had been like victory had been just a sword stroke away and it had been stolen like some higher form of power had taken pleasure in tormenting him by snatching _his_ victory away just as he was about to realise. Mal shook his head to clear his thoughts, while he was sure that he definitely was seeing it, Mal was unsure it he was viewing through _his_ own eyes. Though he suspected so as the boy felt every emotion strongly calling out to him even though the boy knew that he was certainly not that tall and didn't those people have pointed ears? While he was certain that his ears were nothing less than round Mal decided to be on the safe side and check to see if his ears were pointed. Relief flooded the child as his hands met round ears instead of pointed ones, at least he could walk among people without requiring something to hide his ears. A thought struck the boy asking why _he_ should be ashamed of _himself_ and why should _he_ bother to hide _his_ superiority from everyone else. Mal caught himself thinking these thoughts and quickly banished hem, arrogance was unnecessary and not even worth of emotion, forget about the energy wasted when you thought of it.

The boy realised that he possessed a rather large ego for some reason and decided that he should avoid situations where it would being challenged or fed by any source. Considering that in a few years he will begin adolescence this would prove to be a challenging ordeal. The former was most likely going to happen more often than the latter, helping people out would lead to conflict especially if he was dealing with what was called 'bullies' really childish in Mal's mind how why would anyone force someone to do something they would not do? Wouldn't that be admitting your own faults and weaknesses to others? Mal decided that he could tolerate his ego being challenged having it fed however seemed to be something he should try to avoid, most likely it would require him to wave off the compliments and thanks of other's. "Pride comes before a fall" Mal reminded himself, as he realised allowed his ego to grow too much it might make him lose sight of his original goal. He was unacceptable and needlessly wasteful, not to mention foolish along with several other less than savoury words that could be used to describe it.

As the boy walked around the residence inquisitively checking everything was in order and cleaning up he heard a knock on the front door "Mal" the voice of a mad and insane beast moaned "there's been a murder in the neighbourhood and the killer is still out there" the ape that referred to itself as a tiger bellowed. "I came to check to see if you were alright, now come on open up for your Nee-san" the girl shouted.

Mal inwardly cursed as he had forgotten o hypnotise the girl into forgetting his appearance when he had dealt with those delinquents earlier. He also silently sighed at the apes behaviour, though it was not out of character for the feline lover to be over the top. Mal recalled that she didn't pretend to be a tiger but her name was Taiga, Taiga Fujimura a girl who reminded Kiritsugu of someone that the Magus Killer was close to so he doted on the girl, Mal suspected that Taiga had a crush o his old man but was to shy to tell Kiritsugu. Also she was the only one who seemed unaffected by his bounded field. The one Kiritsugu had placed was merely an alarm that would go off and alert any Magus who lived in the house if an uninvited guest had arrived. Mal's bounded field made the person desire not to come inside at all and actually made them afraid to enter. Somehow Taiga had a resistance to it or ignored it's effects completely.

Mal fought a sigh as he walked up to the front door opening it he braced himself as he was swept off his feet by his surrogate sister "Oh Mal-kun" Taiga said as she wrapped him in what for a normal person would have been a suffocating embrace. "I was so worried, with all this talk of a murder going on I thought that you might get caught up in it" she stated. "You should at least say something to your nee-san if you are here" she complained about the boy's lack of response.

"Taiga nee" Mal began he was always unsure how to act with the high school student, Taiga was very kind to him but she also was very strange in her behaviour as she was very energetic like a kid who had too much sugar. "I'm fine" Mal stated "the killer won't be coming after me" he explained. " _That is because I am the killer_ " Mal left that part unsaid. Next time he would move only to incapacitate and use that amount of force.

"Mal-kun" Taiga said as she hugged him harder "You shouldn't say things like that I mean what if the killer actually came here, what would you do?" she asked worriedly at least her concern was genuine even if she was a total ditz.

"Then the old man would kill him" Mal replied referring to Kiritsugu in such a manner as he usually did "They wouldn't stand a chance and their days of killing would be put to an end" the boy explained in a passionless manner.

"But Kiritsugu isn't here" Taiga informed him "who would protect you from the killer if you were all alone?" she asked. Taiga then blinked as she saw what was a the flicker of a smirk on Mal's face. It was only there for an instant but it was there.

"You would Taiga-Nee" was Mal's reply" You could beat them to death with your cursed Shinai so that it may drink it's fill of blood that you have been denying It for so long, in Kenjutsu none area bove you" he explained. "Or you could burst their eardrums with your ferocious roar, perhaps tear their throat out with you fangs or cut them to ribbons with your formidable claws and show them why the Tiger of Fuyuki is the only Tiger they need to fear" the boy informed her Mal then shrugged "That or you could just call your grandfather up and he would happily make them disappear. I mean he would do anything for you, But I would prefer it if you bared your fangs and claws at them, perhaps a roar would do as well"

Taiga promptly dropped Mal onto the floor, putting her hands on her hips and then pouting "Mal-kun do I am serious, do you have to make anything into a joke?" she asked. "By the way I am not tiger" Taiga informed him.

"Are you saying that you wouldn't tear them to pieces if they tried to hurt me Taiga-nee?" Mal asked her in his usual tone but for some reason it made Taiga felt guilty Mal also knew this, which was why he had asked it.

"What no, Mal-kun" Taiga replied waving her arms frantically "of course I would tear them to shreds if they tried to hurt my otouto" she informed him before she put he hands on her hips and outed again "But that does not mean I am a tiger."

"If you say so _Tiger-nee_ " Mal replied to her, fortunately Taiga did not pay too close attention to what the boy said to notice the slight as the adolescent was more looking around the entrance to the residence.

"Say where is Kiritsugu?" Taiga asked looking around "I was hoping that he's be here as well" the youth admitted, it seemed that she was a little saddened by his absence.

"He said that he needed to visit one of his colleagues who was in Japan in the local are" Mal replied not lying but not fully disclosing the entire details either, Taiga was not associated with the moonlit world therefore some Magi if they discovered that she had discovered it would kill her to keep their secret. While Mal found the youth to be extremely irritating at times he found he enthusiasm rather refreshing was genuinely fond of the girl despite all the flaws in her character. "The old man said he wouldn't be gone _too long_ " Mal informed but with Kiritsugu _too long_ was a very long time meaning that this could take over a month if it was short but Mal found himself doubting that. Kiritsugu would be back shortly this he knew.

"Oh well okay" Tagia said and left it at that, I can't stay for too long or my father and my _family_ will get a little worried" the youth explained referring to her father's and grandfather's Yakuza gang as family. Taiga herself was not into it.

"I can assure you Taiga -Nee" Mal began "that this killer is no threat to you at all" he told her truthfully, not that she would even know that the killer was him, Mal did wonder on how Taiga would react if she knew.

* * *

Mitsuzuri Ayoko and her Monori brother were being questioning by the police officer., had been witness to the murder and kidnapping of the two delinquents and the brutal injury of the other two. The policemen who was questioning her was being very sympathetic and understanding towards the two of them, the victims who they had were maimed and killed by someone who had taken it upon themselves to aid these two. "While I understand you were in an already horrible situation and were terrified by what was going on as a police officer I need to ask if either you or your brother were able to make out any details that could help us identify this individual?" he asked.

Ayoko and her brother had been to terrified to look at what was happening the moment either of them had seen blood all she knew was that it was a boy who was a round about her age. "He" Ayoko began "he appeared to be my age" she stated, but I only heard his voice" she admitted. "he sounded young, but he talked all mature." Seeing that what she had just said was all he was going to get from her the police officer patted her on the back reassuringly.

"If that's all it's okay then" the policemen stated "if that's all you saw then we're going to have our work cut out for us but thank you for your cooperation, you're going to have to wait here until your parents pick you up though" he informed her. "First that incident at the Mion River, then the fire and now this, it seems that thing are not going to be settling down any time soon" the policemen stated sighing in frustration. "I just hope we can catch whoever is responsible for this" he said. "But the fact that she believes it is a kid her age only makes it more disturbing" the police officer noted. "I know that fire was unnatural but I didn't imagine it to be like this."

* * *

Mal noticed tht Kiritsugu had come back with someone " _must be the sealing designate he was talking about_ " the boy reasoned. Mal went to open the door and greeted Kiritsugu and a woman with brownish hair that had a tint of red to it and who wore glasses with heir hair tied back into a pony tail "Old man" Mal greeted his foster father "Taiga -nee came over a few hours ago but she left not too long ago, is this your colleague?" he asked.

Kiritsugu looked at the woman who gave a slight nod before he replied "Yes" the Magus Killer informed Mal "Yes she is."

* * *

 **Yeah I cut it off here for several reason, the first was that I desired to take a note out of ForteOfTheBallad98 Avenger of Swords (Still waiting for an update on that one) and make Touka Aozaki his biological parent but, but I wanted to know what you thought of that idea first. Second I was running out of ideas on what to do in this chapter as it is just more of a transition Chapter than anything else, Also I am wondering on who I should have as the main Heroine I will be doing a poll on that but can you first tell me if there is anyone in particular who is not in cannon that you would suggest.**

 **I was planning to put in a flashback of Nagash but I was warned by a very helpful reviewer not to as the great necromancer was as close to pure evil as that guy could thing of. Thanks for that by the way.**

 **Anyway I hope you enjoyed this chapter if there is any feedback that you have or any idea's that you would like to share please leave a review or PM me. Though I would really prefer a review as it is easier to sort and reference and makes me feel good to see that people have feedback about my fic.**

 **Anyways I hope you enjoyed this chapter until next time.**


	4. Chapter 03: Element

**well sorry for the wait, haven't had much time to write anything recently with real life/work getting the way preventing me from writing.**

 **I decided here to focus this chapter on Shirou/Mal's Origin and just finding it, still I can't really say that I am overly happy with this chapter only that I could hve done far worse. Still the plot is going though it is progression slowly.**

 **Anyways I hope you enjoy, I will strive to update more frequently.**

* * *

" _To take responsibility is to take pain onto yourself. It means to bear more pain than what others felt because of your mistakes! If you ruined someone's silver tableware, you must repay with gold tableware. The president of a polluting manufacturing plant must live beside the plant's chimney. That's what taking responsibility means. However the people in so-called high positions never see the consequences. When mistakes are made, they will casually bow their heads and apologize. They think that's enough. Are you one of them too?_ " Toua Tokuchi, One Outs

* * *

The moment she laid eyes on the boy Touka Aozaki instinctively knew that there was something else to. The sister of the Fifth Magic wielder could not quite pin it on anything, perhaps it was the calculating look he gave her when their eyes met or the plain emptiness of them. However the Puppet master without a doubt knew that there was something a little if not wholly inhuman to the boy. Idly Touka pondered if Emiya Kiritsugu had seen it, even as he was now Kiritsugu was still the Magus killer not one to be taken lightly by any stretch of imagination. Still either Kiritsugu saw this darkness for better lack of a word in the boy or perhaps she was imagining things, the Former seemed to be more prominent as a possibility than the latter. Despite this Touka saw a vast untapped potential in the boy named Emiya Mal who was the adopted son of the Magus Killer. Potential that if left untapped would be more than just a waste. "Greetings Emiya Mal" she addressed the red haired and amber eyed boy she had noticed the way Mal had addressed Kiritsugu and was interested in why he didn't refer to the man who was raising him as his father. "My name is Touka Aozaki" she introduced herself receiving a nod of confirmation from Mal. it seemed that Mal was extremely mature or at least acted maturely, still while there was what could be called innocence in the boy's eyes, Touka knew that whatever the creature that stood before her was, it definitely was not a child by any stretch of the imagination. Still she had to admit the boy was even more intriguing in person than what Kiritugu had told her.

"Can I get anything for you?" Mal asked in an emotionless voice that didn't surprise Touka, it seemed he was at least acting mature, though Touka had a good suspicion that Mal was not acting, then again Emiya was his foster parent so it wasn't too surprising for Touka.

The Sealing Designate titled "Puppet Master' turned her eyes to the Magus Killer and raised an eyebrow "would you prefer it if we started right away?" Touka asked referring to transferring the Emiya Clan's Magical Crest from Kiritsugu to Mal, it wouldn't too take long.

The last of the Emiya Clan closed his eyes for a moment in contemplation before he answered her "Yes, if that is alright with you It is best to get this done as soon as possible" Kiritsugu informed her, not wanting to delay the transfer as Mal already knew and understood.

Touka nodded in respect for the Magus Killer'ss decision, it seemed that she would get to talk to Mal after she had transferred the Crest, if Touka played her cards right she could get an apprentice from this as the Boy held too much potential to ignore or leave untapped "Very well then" the sister of The Blue began "While this place that you remodelled here is sufficient is there any place here more private?" she asked looking to Kiritsugu, to Touka's surprise it was Mal who answered her instead of Kiritsugu.

"There is my workshop" the amber eyed boy informed her cementing the belief that he was not a traditional Magus as no one that was traditional would let another into their workshop that casually. "But I had just finished practising animating objects there so it may be a little" at this point paused as he searched for a word to use "distasteful" the boy settled on outright admitting he had been doing something less than savoury there though Touka also saw that Mal did not consider what he had done as wrong or less than savoury.

" _Animate, objects_ " Touka swirled the two words Mal said in her head until she came to what seemed to her a logical conclusion; Mal had been practising the branch of Thaumaturgy that he claimed necromancy had stemmed from, or maybe he was trying his hand at necromancy itself, either way Touka decided that if she went there she would find out what he had been up to. Looking at Kiritsugu for confirmation Touka saw him nod as the two of them followed the boy barely into the second half of his first decade to his workshop.

Touka had to admit that even she was slightly disturbed by the boys workshop, not that it had effected the transfer of the Magical Crest that turned out to almost fail due to Mal's body and Circuits almost rejecting it, still Touka was able to the Emiya Clan Magical Crest From Kiritsugu onto Mal without much trouble. What interested her was the workshop that was littered with numerous things, some of witch actually scuttled about or twitched. She also noted that the temperature here was good for preserving organic materials and that Mal had the makings of a Puppet Master with his unique talent for animating objects. That was not his only talent Touka suspected as she had seen his shadow actually for a moment writhe in sync with his pain for the brief moment that his body almost rejected Kiritsugu's Crest. " _Perhaps he can manipulate shadows as well_ " Touka mused as Mal seemed to be one surprise after another, something she wouldn't really want in a student but would like all the same if that made any form of sense to anyone in general whatsoever.

"So Mal" Touka began "how about we have a little talk as one Sealing Designate to a future one?" she suggested with Mal's only reaction was to raise an eyebrow inquisitively and have his eyes flick over to Kiritsugu for less than a moment, still Touka did catch onto this even though she did not see Mal's eyes flicker. "Don't worry Kiritsugu" she addressed the Magus Killer "you can stay if you want" she informed him though Touka knew that Kiritsugu would stay even if she hadn't offered him the choice, even if it was only to watch. "well then" Touka stated as she looked Mal up and down once again scrutinising the boy before her as she remembered something that had been at the back of her mind until this moment. "Let's have a look at your Element and Origin" she stated.

Once again Mal looked to Kiritsugu for confirmation though Touka suspected that was out of respect than need for a second opinion, the child seemed to only be a child in appearance alone, and that was what disturbed her, still Touka's interest had been piqued by Mal and this was one itch that she was willing to scratch, if only for a brief moment or two. It seemed Kiritugu had given the boy or whatever he truly was his consent as the boy gave a regal but polite nod of consent to Touka, who was impressed at his fortitude. Not many would be willing to even try and find their origin or element after just receiving a Magical Crest scant hours ago, then again the boy was far from normal. The fact that Kiritsugu had taken Mal under his wing or at least taken the boy under his care was proof enough.

"Alright Mal" Touka addressed him "first I will inform you that physical contact is required" she explained seeing Mal's eyebrow raise a fraction at this "contact with the skin on your chest" the Puppet Master elaborated gesturing for him to take of his shirt. Mal did so after giving her a slightly suspicious look as he sat down. "Now I want you to clear your mind of everything" Touka explained as she knelt down placing he palm on the centre of his chest and closing her eyes as Mal followed suit. Touka felt herself as she began to shift through the stream of memories for his origin.

* * *

 _Touka saw starlight that was reflected in what she suspected was a scrying pool that appeared to be on a raised dais in the centre of the room she was in, while Touka Aozaki was certainly no dramatic person with that type of flare, she did admit and admire the that fact that it looked like a sheet of inky blackness dotted with many diamonds. There was ripple in the pool of water that disturbed it, it was then that Touka realised there was another here in this place as the watcher of the pool had been disturbed._

 _What looked like a humanoid with pointed ears similar to one of the fae folk straightened as he saw a shoulder reflected in the settling water, without even pausing the figure spun around delivering a punch the passed through what could be seen as an apparition. This figure also bore some resemblance to the mythical fae folk with the pointed ears. Touka came to the realisation that both these figures were male, the second one was lean of face and dark haired. He now spoke "So it's true what they say" the apparition said as as it steeped through the scrying pool before he stopped at the centre, tracing a line with one finger despite the rest of him being as insubstantial as thought. "Sailors always ready with their fists" this seemed to be light and almost conversational despite the circumstances._

 _The first figure stepped back, his eyes now narrowed and glanced at the door "the wards" he began "they are no broken" the fist figure referred to as a sailor state. "How did you pass them?" he asked stopping in his retreat as his legs met the edge of a cabinet by the wall. "The loremasters assured me the barrier was inviolable." Touka while would normally would be inclined to scoff at this statement did not because for some reason she felt that she might reveal herself to these beings, whatever they really were._

" _Magic can be a tricky thing my friend" the second figure who seemed rather sinister explained. "But you are right, my mother and I tried for many years to breach the warding spells placed on this tower without success." he stated casually. "Trickery, brute strength nothing we tried worked. A shame we didn't have an earlier opportunity to exploit treachery" he informed the other occupant._

" _A traitor" the first occupant of the chamber stated regaining his composure, this fact showing in his tone as he comported himself in a manner befitting of a ruler, Touka idly wondered that he might be one even. "A traitor amongst the loremasters of Hoeth? Who could gain by such a thing?" he asked. It seemed from the way that he spoke that such a thing was unheard of or that he was all too trusting of people. Touka assumed the latter, but she suspected that it may have been the former._

" _Not quite a loremaster" the second figure admitted "not really."_

 _It seemed that this admission was all that the first figure needed as he breathed a single name more of a statement than a question "Teclis?" he named the tradition as the second figure did nothing to deny who it was._

" _I'll grant you this, you are one of the cleverer Phoenix Kings I have killed" the second figure informed the only physical occupant of the room confirming who the Traitor was without even saying it._

" _So you intend to kill me" the rooms occupant stated without a hint of doubt in his voice. "It will not help" he stated "my death will bring you no closer to the Phoenix Throne' he explained._

" _Actually it does" the apparition corrected him. "Or so I have been told, from a reliable source" he explained striding out of the pool and marvelling at the way the rays of light seemed to pass through his not quite corporeal body._

" _Teclis again?" the first figure asked or more like accused a little weary "it was a moment of weakness, assisted by the night I confessed to feeling guilt at our deception" he admitted._

" _Deception?" the second figure repeated "Confession? Please continue" he asked smiling or at least the representation of him did. Touka likened this smile to a predator that had caught their prey and was only letting it's quarry think there was a chance of escape._

" _You know of what I speak" the first figure who had been referred to by the second as the Phoenix King stated. "The coronation to become Phoenix King" the Pheonix King said "it is a sham" he stated. "I no more passed through the flames of the king of kings than you did." It seemed that whatever was going on here was linked to an age old conspiracy Touka reasoned. Something that most Magus's found delicious, though the sister of the Blue was content enough witnessing the magic being used before her._

" _I knew it" the second figure said snapping his fingers his smile now broadened to a grin. "There had to be some reason that made Teclis seek me out." he explained. "He thinks Rhana Dandra is coming you know?" he informed the Phoenix King. "He needs the true heir to Aenarion to sit on the Pheonix Throne, to save elvenkind." the figure who Touka assumed viewed himself as 'the true heir' as he put it said identifying his race to the Magus._

" _His brother T-" The false Phoenix King as it seemed began to speak but was swiftly cut off by the second figure._

" _Tyrion is useless" the second figure stated "a vacant slave to his lusts for the Everqueen, cursed by the taint of Khaine as pronounced by Caledor DragonTamer." th second figure explained catching Touka's attention with the one mentioned' title, she knew of no Dragon Tamer's even in myth so whoever this Caledor was he had to be extremely skilled, that and powerful."Have you not been paying attention" the second figure asked rhetorically "he even has a child from his rutting, a dirty secret to keep from court."_

" _Alarielle has borne only me child, Alaithra.' the Phoenix King replied naming both his wife and his supposed daughter._

" _Save your lies" the second figure reprimanded him "you know that she is not yours." he explained. "What a noble spirit Tyrion must be" the second figure mocked. "To cuckhold the Phoenix King and sire the next Everqueen? That must be why you never named him as successor, but always spoke well of Imrik though the Prince of Caledor despises you for the most part" he explained. Touka did not know whether he knew of this or was guessing much of it but it seemed whoever this person was, he definitely was enjoying the look of pain that twisted on the other's face as each accusation was made and took further proof. "It gnaws at your heart doesn't it" he asked mockingly."To think that the Dragon Cothique is lauded so highly when in truth he is nothing more than an adolescent, getting into fights and bedding your wife." Touka had no doubt that the second figure was definitely enjoying this. Even you noblest and most worthy of all the princes, even you cannot swallow that shame and accept that failure in your heart." he informed the Phoenix King._

 _When the physical occupant of the room next spoke it was in a uiet voice, but one that was still heard all the same. "Many times has the marriage and consummation between the Phoenix King an Everqueen been purely" he paused at his before continuing "ceremonial."_

" _More shame? More Guilt?" the second figure asked clearly interested in what the Phoenix King had to say for himself._

 _The Phoenix King himself bowed his head, averting his gaze mumbling something that no one present could quite hear._

" _Was that an apology or a prayer?" the Phoenix King's to be killer asked "nighter will be heard" the second figure informed him._

" _You cannot harm me here" the Phoenix King announced for some reason emboldened, waving his hand back and forth between the apparition's shoulders and then up and down his face. "you cannot trans materialise yourself within these walls, even with Teclis's assistance" he stated. "He has opened a window for you nothing more" the Phoenix King explained. "In fact I would think that Teclis does not want me dead, not yet" he informed the apparition's. "He is right I have seen in the Heavens that Rhana Drandra is upon us. The gods of the stars fall back to the world and the gate of the north opens. The Daemons will be upon us within days and Teclis knows that our people need my leadership" the Phoesnic King stated._

" _I cannot say for sure what Teclis intended" the second figure informed the first 'but rest assured I have not hidden my motives' he informed the Phoenix King as the second figure began to make signs in the air weaving jagged runes with the tip of his finger "Well not for this night" he admitted "I will dispense with his alliance as soon as it becomes unnecessary" he informed the Phoenix King referring to Teclis. "Once he has handed me Ulthan's keys, he will find me a less pleasant companion" the second figure stated. "You are correct in your assertion that I cannot lay physical hands upon you, much to my pity" he added. "There are other ways to extend my reach" the Second figure stated._

" _What are you doing" the Phoenix King demanded as he moved towards the door. The apparition of the second figure stalked after him whispering what Touka believed to be some sort of spell or enchantment that caused hi floating incantation to form a circle that began to revovle around the scrying pool. While the Sealing Designate had seen and borne witness to many inhuman deeds, her natural instincts screamed more strongly than ever before not to look into what was happening in the pool._

" _Dangerous things, windows" the second figure stated as he came between the Phoeni x King and the Door. The Second figure now pointed back to the pool whose waters were now the colour of blood. "The sisters of Ghrond have learned such lessons in very hard circumstances" he informed the physical occupant. "Sometimes other things look back though the windows." It was at this point Touka realised that perhaps she should try and escape this memory. "Also some windows can be opened you see" the second figure stated._

 _While Touka oly had a vague impression of the implications it seemed the one who had been called the Phoenix King understood all too well. "What have you done" he demanded, his voice chocked as he darted towards side of the pool pool and stared into it's depths._

" _Just a little portal" the second figure replied "It won't last long enough to threaten Lothern" he informed the Phoenix King. When said king demanded or more like requested as to where it lead he replied "see for yourself."_

 _As the one called the Phoenix King despite his better judgement leaned over the edge of the pool a hand with red skin and black claws shot out of the blood coloured water and seized him by the throat. The water's boiled as and what Touka could only describe as a demonic figure from Christian depreciations, a horned head emerged slowly, white eyed, fanged mouth open in an ecstatic grin._

" _I cannot as you said, transubstantiate my body within these walls" the second figure explained/ "But Daemons rarely have such problems" he informed the now struggling Phoenix King._

" _They'll never accept you" the one referred to as the Phoenix King gasped as he pulled himself free of the daemons grasp, tearing bloody welts from across his throat. "Ulthuan will drown in blood before you are hailed as Phoenix King!" he declared._

 _The second Figure said nothing as the daemon leapt forth from the water, it's hands seizing hold of the Phoenix King while a forked tongue ran across it's razor sharp teeth. The daemon turned to look at the second figure, there was hunger in it's eyes._

 _Without warning Touka felt herself being pulled away from the memory in a forceful and violent fashion suddenly the Mage found herself on an isle made of black sharp rocks that were jagged and what she suspected might have been obsidian. Before her there was a whirling tempest that sounded like the screeching echoes of dead souls as a light blossomed brightly shining and shadows writhed and twisted like tendrils finding cracks or ledges to seep into. At the centre of the tempest of souls a singular sword burned brightly shining with an impossible light that as it set fire to the obsidian rock it stood in. Touka Aozaki felt a hot gauntleted hand on her Shoulder as a voice similar to the second figure's if not the exact same whispered "you should not be here ape." it said and then once again the Puppet Master found herself thrust unceremoniously away from where she was, this time into the howling wind of souls and the hot fire that burned._

* * *

Touka opened her eyes with a jolt to see Mal in front of her his facial expressions unreadable "Are you alright?" he asked in his mature fashion, seeing that Touka not respond he added "is it over?" Mal asked his eyes subtlety flicking down to where Touka's hand rested.

Touka noticed that her hand was still placed on his chest so she retracted it "yes" she replied to his first and second question. "It is over, though there were some things that concerned me" she informed him glancing at Kiritsugu knowing that the Magus Killer should also be told. While at first glance I was unable to discern Mal's origin and element I did see it or what I believe to be a representation of them" the Sealing Designate informed both the Magus Killer and his adopted son, deciding to finish up the business with Mal's Element and Origin for the moment. If I were to try and explain it in a few words I would say that the I would use the term 'highly if not extremely intriguing' to explain it" Touka stated.

"What did you manage to see?" Kiritsugu asked concerned at the way Touka had described what she believed to either be Mal's Origin or his Element, Magus's didn't usually use those words when it was something good.

"Well to put it bluntly after I got through the memory I saw a sword upon an isle of jagged black rocks with the souls of the departed circling, surrounded by shadows and flames." Touka recalled explaining what she had seen. "Also the Sword shone with an unearthly almost divine type of light from what I could make of it" she added as an after thought, I believed that it might be better to discuss this before we jumped to conclusions as I have a feeling that Mal here is very unique" she explained "unique enough for the Mage association to make him into a sealing designate if they even catch a whiff of this." Touka stated. "All this and Mal here hasn't even done anything just yet." It seemed that the Sealing designate dubbed Puppet Master was getting some ideas into her head whether that was a good thing or not depended on the person who saw it's point of view, Kiritsugu was concerned Mal himself was more leaning on the intrigued side of things. Then again Mal was not the best person to care about his own personal safety after all.

"There is more to it isn't there" Mal stated. "Something happened as you did not come back calmly in fact you seemed to reacted as if you were forcibly expelled" Mal informed her casting an imperceptible glance to Kiritsugu to see is he had noticed that part.

Touka Aozaki adjusted her glasses so that they fit perfectly, she was rather impressed with Mal's perceptiveness "let's say the memory I witnessed before I got there was disturbing" she explained. "From what I could make of it you were nowhere in sight she explained. That and when I witnessed what I believe to be either or Element or Origin or possible a combination of the two something threw me out stating that I shouldn't have been there" the Puppet Master explained the bare basics of what she had seen, leaving out what had been happening with the two figures in the memory as she was under the impression that something like that needed to be addressed separately. She had seen enough to realise this fact. Perhaps when Mal was a little older and more 'stable' for lack of a better word.

"Something expelled you" Kiritsugu asked as such a thing was unheard of unless the person whose Element and origin they were attempting to find was uncooperative Mal himself seemed to be more than willing to cooperate but Kiritsugu knew that the boy was next to unreadable when it came to his desires, or perhaps it was because the boy had none that he couldn't be read. No matter while the Magus Killer believed Mal to be honest he knew that Mal was reserved in his opinion of some things, perhaps this was just a bit too personal.

"I take it that something like this only happens if the host is unwilling?" Mal stated more than asked. "I was willing" he stated before Touka or Kiritsugu could comment. Mal himself knew that Touka was avoiding talking about the memory that she had witnessed but decided not to press the issue and instead focussed on what he had already been told. " _Ulgu, Shyish, Aqshy and Chamon_ " he instinctively though not knowing whee the words had come from "Shadow, Death, fFre and Metal" Mal murmured to himself.

"That is very perceptive of you" Touka stated her eyes widening at the Boy as she had not yet realised it, perhaps your origin is a combination of those four" she mused knowing that there were irregular Elements and Origins out there. "Everything I saw was connected to that scene" she mused before her eyes widened in shock realising what that meant. "Impossible" Touka breathed as the implications she knew of sunk in. "Kiritsugu" she said with a serious tone turning to regard the Magus Killer "you said you suspected that he was the son of a Sealing Designate" the Puppet Master stated receiving a nod of confirmation from the Magus Killer. "It is possible that Mal here then may be an incarnation" she explained causing the Magus Killer to raise his eyebrows in surprise.

"An incarnation" Kiritsugu asked knowing of those with Dual Elements and Origins being rare like his own Severing and Binding one, but an Incarnation was relatively unheard of. After all someone who possessed an Element and Origin that was the same was said to be a manifestation of it. This and they would be poor at any other form of Magecraft save their own. Now while Kiritsugu considered himself as a Magic user than a traditional Magus this still was important as the implications were great. If what Touka Aoaki had said was true, (Kiritsugu himself had many reasons to doubt the words that came out of the Sealing Designates mouth) then if Clocktower ever caught the scent of Mal he would definitely be turned into Sealing Designate especially if he had four different unaligned things ass his Element and Origin that matched. While the boy himself seemed to be confident that he could handle whatever came his way, the Magus killer new that it would not only be the Mage Association coming after him if he was indeed an incarnation as 'The Red' had said.

"I suspect so" Touka said looking at the 'work' Mal had in the workshop "there might be a reason he is very talented in this stem of Necromancy and the actual branch of thaumaturgy" she explained. "Though perhaps it would be best if we could get him to test the other three he mentioned" Touka suggested. "Shadow, Fire and Metal" she listed off the other three. "It seems you son was ore interesting than I though" Touka admitted smiling to herself but getting rid of it from the blank look Kiritsugu gave her.

"What does that mean?" Mal asked less confused and more wanting to hear what Touka had to say as he was rather interested in the Sealing Designate before him, knowing that she was dangerous only heightened his curiosity. Self-preservation was not high on the list.

"Well Mal" Touka Aozaki began "how would you consider studying under me for a little bit?" she asked.

* * *

 **So yeah for a short time I will be having Touka teach Mal Thaumaturgy, I am playing around with the idea of him helping Kiritsugu save Illya from the Einzberns but am unsure of how I should proceed just yet so ideas and opinions would be greatly appreciated**

 **I am also considering adding Mal into some of the events of Garden of Sinners (** **Kara no Kyōkai** **)** **but let me know what you think of that as well.**

 **Anyways I would really appreciate it if you left a review with some feedback and ideas or PM if you don't want other's to see it. Still I would appreciate the review more as it is easier to reference when I am writing my next chapter.**

 **Anyways until next time.**


	5. Chapter 04: Pupil

**To those of you who actively follow this fic I'm sorry for the wait, I actually had most of it done over 30 days ago but was stuck on the last bit for a while, that and Real life got in the way a lot so I was kind of busy. Anyway I have finally managed to update this one so I hope you enjoy it. Also thanks to all of you who reviewed thanks for the support. I hoe you continue to do so as It is really appreciated.**

* * *

" _The writing end when the writing ends. No. Accurately said, it is not written to an end. If you write a story to a certain point, can you say it is fully written? This has been paining me in all those long years as someone who writes. The journeys of humans make for such interesting stories, yet, But where does the journey start and where does it end. Even I do not know an answer to this._ "-Featherine Augustus Aurora, Umineko no Naku Koro ni Chiru Episode 8: Twilight of the Golden Witch

* * *

Mal looked at the two suitcases that he had packed with his notes and a three sets of clothes other than the one's he currently wore. He was leaving Fuyuki City with the Sealing Designate known as the Puppet Master named Touko Aozaki and was heading to her newest hideout in Mifune city where she ran her Puppet business Garan no Dou. Mal did note that he was slightly interested as to why the Puppet Master had named her business that but he himself could come up with several theories as to it's name and origins for the most part Mal himself was suspicious of the puppet master but then again she was not the type of person you would trust implicitly and the boy was suspicious by nature or at least suspected that he was since he knew that Touko was not telling everything though Mal did suspect that from the sideways glance that Touko had given Kiritsugu that it was a topic that she was going to share and discuss with Kiritsugu. This Mal had taken into consideration so the boy with red hair had given an unspoken command to his tiniest of creations that had been spread through the residence to monitor them and relay everything that the two were speaking of to him. Mal was extremely good at Multi tasking and took this chance to practice as he noticed and noted all that was happening within the residence as he had been packing what possessions of his the by believed that he should take. Most of it happened to be his research notes that other people could understand, while Mal knew that Kiritsugu would in most cases kill anyone who went snooping around his workshop -that was if the boy's newest creations didn't acquire them as new material for the distorted child-, the adopted son of the Magus Killer also knew that the man had other things he had to do as well. Such as plan to destroy the ley lines of Fuyuki City to prevent another Grail War as the Mal's adopted father had aid to himself unaware that Mal had been observing him. Mal had briefly wondered what this Grail and ley lines had in common but had quickly summed up that it must be some sort of magical ritual that Kiritsugu was attempting to prevent.

The words noble, selfless, foolish and futile came into Mal's mind whenever he had reflected on any action akin to this. The red haired boy had to ask why the first two words spoke well of the person while the last two ridiculed them. While Mal found that he could appreciate the action his adopted father was taking the boy realised that he was also sneering at it, inwardly at the very least though never openly for Mal himself believed that he owed the man known as the Magus Killer a debt for taking out of the fire that fateful night. The red haired boy's ears twitched as he picked up the conversation between Touko and Kiritsugu, it seemed the Puppet Master had some interesting things to say at the very least, leaving the Magus Killer and unknown to either of them Mal with a good deal to consider. It was a pity that they left the estate when they began to talk about it though, still Mal himself could tell that this was something he would surely be desiring to know of later, whether it was truly relevant or not was yet to be seen, but Mal desired to know it all the same.

* * *

"I take it this is about the memory you saw when you attempted to discover his Element and Origin?" Kiritsugu asked a little suspicious of Touko's motives for attempting to leave Mal out of the loop, the man suspected that his adopted son would find out in either way.

"Yes" Touko confirmed with a slow nod, though it was slow the action was anything but reluctant, more along the lines of bracing one's self. "You yourself said that the boy lost almost all of his memories from the fire at the end of the fourth Grail War" the Puppet Master stated. "However, Mal or Malekith as he named himself seems to be gaining knowledge of an impossible kind yet when he spoke to you in the hospital, the boy by no means was lying" the Sealing Designate summarised. Seeing the Kiritsugu was giving her a look to get on with it Touko now began to explain what she had wanted to talk to the Magus Killer about. "The memory that I saw did not belong to Mal though as he was nowhere in site though at the same time it also felt like it belonged to him all the same" Touko said.

This did cause Kiritsugu concern as the transfer of memories was possible though he himself did not know the exact process. "You suspect that someone or something implanted memories into him?" the man cursed to die asked cautiously not sure if this was safe to discuss here. While the Magus Killer himself was not as stable in the mental health area any more due to the events of the fourth Grail War where he believed he had lost everything despite being the winner according to the Grail itself. Mal was even more unstable than he was and Kiritsugu knew it, the man formerly known as the Magus Killer knew that Mal only desired to help other people because Kiritsugu himself was the one to help him, if the boy had been left in the wreckage and only found be the search and rescue teams hours later there is no telling what he might have been like. Kiritsugu himself had caught glimpses of the boy's dark nature as the child himself seemed to lack a proper moral compass and had no concern for human life given what he had done to the delinquents he had used.

While those were the perfect traits in a Magus as the lack of a conscience would aid them in their studies them reach root Kiritsugu alo knew that Mal was no Magus from the magic that the child had been utilising. Magi couldn't do something on that scale, none alive that is. That was only the small scale activities that Mal ha been practising, Kiritsugu had come across some of the other notes that Mal had made and had translated for his adoptive father which included the creation or creatures that Mal called Morghasts, not good at all.

Touko Aozaki the Puppet Master nodded you aren't wrong" she replied. "But I believe that it goes even deeper than that" the Pupper Master stated "from what I felt, it is not just a single person but multiple of them that have done far more than just implant memories into Mal" she explained. Seeing Kiritsugu's eyes narrow Touko kbew that the Magus Killer was considering killing the boy for the sake of mercy. Sighing she continued "I believe whoever or whatever they were, they have implanted a portion of their own souls into the Mal." Touko stated recalling what she had felt and what had expelled her from Mal "whoever they were I do not believe it was intentional as whatever was passed on is not enough to control the boy or have a separate intelligence, but only enough to influence him at least."

Kiritsugu found himself relaxing not realising how tense he had become at this new, however this was still disturbing as the he suspected that Grail itself may have tried to use Mal as a Vessel, but Kiritsugu dismissed this notion as it would have had a far different outcome as the Magus Killer would have immediately recognised it's taint, he had been covered in it so it was not hard, but the Magus Killer had to be sure. "When you were at Mal's origin" he began "what did it feel like?" the former Magus Killer asked cautiously.

Touko noticed that this was important and thought on her reply for a good minute before answering "It felt a little contradictory, it felt like the feeling you have in a fresh grave yard which you yourself buried everyone there" she replied "It also felt dark as if the Shadows themselves were hungry and trying to devour you yet something there was burning hot that brightened everything scaring away and holding back the despair and shadows keeping them from reaching you" Touko's eyes now narrowed as she concentrated hard "There was a metallic feeling" she finally said "Like running ones hand across the surface of a flawless metal's edge that was so sharp and so fine that you only realised that fact long after when you looked at your bleeding hand and recalled it" the Touko finished what she had felt.

Kiritsugu nodded grateful that it had not felt like what the Grail had felt though the despair and darkness did still trouble the Magus Killer greatly, however the contradictory part also interested him as not many people had them possessing a contradictory element and origin was rare, another reason why the association would desire to dissect him, however it seemed that Mal for the moment was under the radar, which was fortunate for the boy as he had very little in the terms of resources to work with so he could counter them or flee.

Touko realising that this was definitely something that should be investigated more spoke "I'll keep in contact if I discover anything more about this" she informed Kiritsugu "until then I'll start teaching Mal thaumaturgy starting with the basics, after that we will work from there on magic specific to his Element and Origin, along with the branch of Thaumaturgy that he claimed Necromancy came from" Touko informed Kiritsugu. "I do believe it will be good for his health to visit you every now and again as well as good for you."

"There is the problem of the Law regarding education" Kiritsgu informed her. "He did not believe that Mal should attend a school as the boy was far too unstable for it in Kiritsugu's opinion and that would have been with the Magus Killer monitoring him and everything.

"I believe that you also know that at present Emiya Malekith is far from safe to send to a place filled with normal children" Touko replied confirming that she had summarised this as well. "When he is older and more stable it could be attempted perhaps in a few years."

Kiritsugu doubted that it would be in his life time as the Magus Killer was dying slowly with about at the maxima five years left to live. Still having a son more broken and hollow than he is, was extremely ironic for the Magus Killer, something he could appreciate now. "That would be good" he agreed as the last thing Kiritsugu desired was for his son to mature into a heartless monster or even worse grow up to be like the Magu Killer himself, that was a fate he desired to prevent from occurring though Mal did not see why he did so.

"I guess I will be teaching Mal how to interact with other's he seems stoic and cold but I get the feeling that is due to the boys lack of expressing himself as he appeared to be far darker from what I felt when I searched for his origin" Touko explained. "Though one could argue that something like that is not necessarily a bad thing" she mused. "The thing is Mal himself is quite young so it will not be too difficult to influence him into taking the correct path or at least be able to appear almost normal to non magic users at the very least."

Touko now looked at Kiritsugu before nodding and turning back to the estate as they headed there "There is something that Mal is working on that I believe you should know" Kiritsugu stated earning Touko's attention and interest "It involves the creation of creatures he has decided to call Morghasts" the Magus Killer explained "I believe that he may show them to you at some point or at least show you the plans for creating them." he now took in a deep breath "It was disturbing to say the least" he answered Touko's unasked question.

* * *

" _It is my right to be Phoenix King" Mal found himself growling at what appeared to be some sort of banquet. "It is not yours to give" he informed those before of him "so I will gladly take it" Mal found that his voice was bitter and full of venom and arrogance, neither sat well with him. While Mal did find that he could look down on others, he had also known that he should never do so as it was easier to deceive and surprise someone who looked down on you than it was to do the same to one who was wary and suspicious of you._

" _Traitor!" one of the braver of more foolish attendants screamed as he leap across from the table in front of him, scattering goblets and plates. There was an uproar as the other's present shouted in horror at the scene that was now taking place before their very eyes. To his confusion Mal found that he held nothing but scorn, disgust, anger, contempt and hatred for most of those present even though he could have sworn he had not seen any of them before until now. Sometimes Mal found that familiar faces were present that he had seen before in other dreams but mainly the boy found that those present usually changed save the one who called herself is mother, she was usually a constant, in these vision, memories or whatever they truly were, though her frequency may not have been a good thing._

 _The individual who had shouted at him was hallway to where Mal was when one whom Mal found that he did not scorn intercepted him, sending both of them down in a welter of robes and rugs. The one whom had declared that Mal was a traitor punched his foe in the face causing him to reel back. With a snarl Mal's ally reached into his robes and bulled out a curved blade, no longer than a finger and slashed at his assistant, the blade slicing neatly through the other's throat causing his life blood to burst forth like a fountain across the exposed flagstones the two of them had landed on. Mal found that he was not bothered by the murder that had just taken place in front of him, then again Mal had found that he was rather unhealthily detached from most thing in the world, death did not seem tragic._

 _Bathinair Mal realised was his allies name, he was a Prince from Yvresse who supported his claim to the Phoenix Throne, Mal also noted that he only recalled or discovered his allies name once he had taken view of the man's knife, that was if anyone here was a man._

 _As Bathinair crouched panting over the body of his slain foe -Elodhir, Mal realised that was the one who had just perished' name- figures appeared in the archway behind where Mal stood. Black armoured knights of Anlec, that is who and what they were and the served him, Malekith. The other's present who had been running for the arch slipped and collided with each other in their hast to stop their flight. The knights had blood slicked blades in their hands and advanced with a sinister purpose, not that Mal cared for their fate at all._

* * *

 _The scene faded though unlike the previous ones Mal found that he did not return to the waking world instead he found himself himself in what could only be described as a floating city. The Storm wracked seas crashed against the harsh shore of rock pinnacles foaming madly. The Skies were in turmoil no doubt blackened by a sinister power. Through it all, the spume and rain dark, the fortresses surged across the seas as massive shapes' towering edifices of battlements and walls, none of the like Mal could recall ever seeing before. The castles followed in the wake of the largest floating citadel which Mal himself stood upon the highest tower upon it. The lashing rain steamed from the armour he wore as Mal turned around at the sound of his mother's voice from the that was archway behind him._

" _This is where we flee to?" she said not asked, anger flashing in her eyes. "This cold, bleak land?" she challenged. Evidently she was more akin to something more luxurious given the way she was when Mal had first seen her upon his awakening still she would survive._

" _The will not follow us here" Mal found himself replying to her instead of giving her comforting words. "We are the Naggarothi" he declared. "We were born in the north and in the north we shall be born again" Mal stated determined with the fire that burned within him steaming the rain before it even reached him and drying the pavement he stood upon. "This land" he referred to the barren wasteland before them "as bleak as it is, shall be ours. Naggaroth" Mal named the place upon which they were after their former home._

 _His mother was not impressed by this and was most thoroughly displeased if her facial expressions were anything to go by. "To build a new Kingdom?" she asked sneering at him. "To accept your defeat and build anew as if Nagarythe had never existed" she asked._

 _Mal found that he was enraged by what his mother had suggested so much so that the fire within him burst for as flames from his iron body. "No" Mal replied his fired evaporating the rain "We will never forget that which has been taken from us" he informed his mother with a cold fury and an unrelenting hate "Ulthuan belongs to me" Mal stated. "If it takes a thousand years, ten thousand years, I will claim my rightful place as king, I am the son of Aenarion. It is my destiny" Mal declared for the first time hearing the name of the person or being whom he and his mother had referred to as his father, even though it came from his very own lips. Part of him was excited eager to learn more about his apparent sire, while another part told him to be ashamed as he was related to them individual, the name though it felt grand had a dark feeling to it. One that Mal knew or more akin could feel instinctively was more tainted by something malevolent than he could fathom or at least for the moment was beyond the boy's comprehension "Who am I?" Mal asked himself._

* * *

"Who am I?" the words echoed in Mal's mind as he woke up, it seemed the train him and Touko Aozaki were taking to go to where she currently resided was, had not yet arrived at it's destination. Mal himself did not know when he had fallen asleep, perhaps it was something that he should rectify soon, falling asleep that easily was not beneficial for one travelling and apprenticing under a Sealing Designate. Mal noted that this was something he should address in the near or immediate future. Looking up from his surroundings Mal confirmed that Touko Aozaki, the Sealing Designate titled Puppet Master was looking at him a concerned expression on her face, she was also the person who was going to be his instructor in the moonlit world as Mal had heard Kiritsugu refer to it as, a suitable name.

"Did you have a bad dream?" Touko asked him, the cover they had constructed for his appearance was that he was a relative of hers, or her foster son -he did vaguely look the part in that regard-, not that any of it had mattered to Mal but it seemed that Miss Aozaki was at the moment playing the part, or practising at this chance. "The expression you wore was anything but peaceful" the she informed him, "perhaps it was a nightmare or just an unpleasant dream" she suggested partially correct in her assessment of Mal's sleep at the least.

" _Unpleasant?_ " Mal reflected on the two scenes he had just witnessed, they did fall under that category and while Mal had no problems bending the truth, he still was loathe to tell and outright lie So the red haired boy replied with a nod "something along those lines, yes"

"Did something happen in this dream?" Touko asked interested as well as concerned, the woman while being a Sealing Designate was an accomplished Magus after all so it would be little to no surprise that this did indeed interest her in a small part, if not a large one.

"I'd rather not discuss it just yet" Mal replied in a mature fashion, too mature for a child his age which was disturbing if anyone else had been present they would have suspected that something was not fully right with the boy, as fortune or more specifically Touko would have it, they were alone in the train, most likely to Touko and Kiritsugu making use of hypnotism, or just plain paying for this pat of the train to be empty, Mal seemed inclined to believe the former more than the latter, after all how does someone buy out a train or to be more exact public transport. Mal had refused to tell Touko of what he dreamt or the visions he experience less due to a lack of trust and more due to the fact that the red haired boy did not believe informing the Sealing Designate would be of any use to him or Touko herself for that matter. That and if it didn't effect her she didn't need to know, this reason Mal found flawed because at some point or another this was bound to effect the person who was to be his teacher in some way or another, that or he was going to at the very least.

"I see" Touko replied nodding leaving the this discussion at that, Mal knew that she was going to have him and her continue it later, but fortunately that was later and not now. Leaving Mal with plenty of time to devise some sort of fabrication or come clean with it. The two of them rode the rest of the trip in silence.

* * *

Mal had been with Touko Aozaki for just under two and a half years now, throughout this time he had leant a great deal of things from the Sealing designate. At first she had him focus on reinforcing objects and then grasping them. Together the two of them had found that there were certain objects that Mal found easier to use, these were limited to objects that mostly were metallic in origin or design, Mal himself was did not really care but Touko assumed that it may have been due to his origin more than anything else. 'The Red' had also gone out of her way to tutor Mal in Rune Magic which he found the easiest to use and others such as formalcraft and bounded fields, though the boy was already versed in the latter, but these were just two of many he had been taught while he was with Touko.

Mal himself had also been studying and experimenting with his _other_ craft as well unable to leave it be, some of his projects even his teacher said were a little too morbid for even her tastes and she was a Sealing Designate. This hadn't deterred the boy who had yet to complete his first decade so heh ad been wandering around late at night finding the most wicked and cruel people he could find on hand and extracting a sample of them for his work. Sometimes it would be when they were unaware of it such as a hair or another thing they would not notice. Other times the boy would make sure that these people knew that they were being targeted, Mal did not deny that he feel pleasure leaving them beaten and almost broken after he had obtained what he needed, but they were scum not worth any pity.

The only real problem they had was that Touka did not possess a permanent workshop at the moment so Mal would need to preserve his samples and keep them smalls so that he could carry on his person, When Touko had asked him what he planned on creating with the samples he had acquired Mal simply smiled and told her that she would see. The boy did note that Touka commented that whenever he smiled like that she would feel shivers being sent down her spine meaning that her senses was telling her it was not in any way good.

Now finally after they had moved for the fifth time due to Touko's so called desires which was rightly so given the fact that she was a Magus wanted by the Mage's Association and that she was tutoring another future one, the two found themselves outside an abandoned building in a place called Mifune. Here was where Touko was going to set up workshop for Garan no Dou that was her contract based agency that dealt with puppet making that gave her with income despite her use of her sister's name to acquire such needs as a habit.

The young boy briefly wondered if revenge on the 'Blue; was more important to Touko than her on well being in those instances as using her sister's name had forced them to move due to certain Magi's attention they had attracted. One of said Magi was now being used as good puppet material as Touko had put it after Mal had killed the man, if she was disturbed out a child defeating a Magus by aging his brain to dust she did not make any comments on it, though she said it would have been better if the brain was left intact next time.

The boys thoughts were interrupted As Touko began to leave the workshop. "Where are you going?" the red haired boy asked in his toneless voice staring at her with his blank eyes waiting for an answer, Mal was not really interested but was doing it for the sake of form. His mentor did say to him that he did make a very convincing normal human when he wanted to, but not yet normal enough to be let outside without proper instruction as Mal had a habit of being too 'dark' for lack of a better word for it to be anything natural for others.

"Do you know Mikiya Kokutou?" Touko asked though she knew that he knew about her employee who despite not being a Magus was able to get through her Bounded Field and make it here. Mal had almost killed him thinking the youth was an intruder at the time. Seeing her pupil nod Touko continued "his friend Shiki Ryougi who was in Coma for the last three years has woken up" she informed him. Mal did not need to here the rest, if Touko was going to see this person there was only one reason that stood out, this person, Shiki Ryougi as Touko had named her was at least interesting and connected to the moonlight world of Magi in some sense or another. Mal nodded and went back to reading the book on Rune magic that Touko had _acquired_ for him. He could wait and see how this would turn out. After all the boy by no means was in a hurry of any kind, though the prospect of something entertaining did pique Mal's interests, not a distraction but something different there weren't too many Magi for him to practise being the Magus Killer's second coming on here.

* * *

 **So yeah going into the events of Kara no Kyoukai for a bit, please note that he will visit Kiritsugu from time to time in this period and spend more time with the Magus Killer in his last year in 1999 so it will not be just the movie series you will see Mal in. Anyway thank you for reading this and I hope you enjoyed this chapter expect things to get faster paced from here for a bit so hopefully there will be some action in the next chapter. If any of you have any feedback or ideas you would like to share please feel free to leave a review or PM me I would like to ask everyone to try to leave a review rather than a PM as I find it easier to sort and reference when I am righting the next chapter that way using less tabs. But if you don't want other's to see your idea then please PM me.**

 **Anyways I hope you enjoyed until next time.**


	6. Chapter 05: Hollow Shrine 01

**So yeah I was reading through the review I had gotten for the previous chapter (all four of them) and then I came across the review given OverDemon. I was like wow this guy really likes this fic and so I was inspired to write the next chapter faster than usual which is really slow recently due to life getting in the way an all. So anyways a big thank you to OverDemon and the other three who reviewed thanks. Anyways I hope you enjoy**

* * *

 _"For the first time, I felt honoured at being allowed to compete in this game of truth and error, and witches as a human. And ironically, that taught me that the truth is not necessarily only one when I believed that only one truth existed. By just broadening my field of vision a little, I can see a truth that is completely different. And no matter which one of the truths, if you can only see one of them, they will not be the right answer. Ah, in my life until now, I wonder how many truths have I turned away from because I was blinded by some trivial truth? This is, the truth, of the world._ " -Furudo Erika, Umineko no Naku Koro ni

* * *

Touko Aozaki, the infamous Puppet Master stood in the elevator and listened to the two nurse's gossip, some it was about Mikiya Kokutou and how he had been visiting his friend Shiki Ryougi for the past two years without fail while she was in a coma. The two spoke of how they would have also liked to have a man love them like that who was devoted to them. Tokou had come here under the guise of being a speech therapist for Shiki after hearing about her self inflicted injury on her eyes. From what the Touko knew she suspected that Shiki had a rare brand of Mystic Eyes something she was familiar with given that she possessed the eyes of binding, but there was only a select few that could warrant this type of reaction from the user. All of them were as dangerous as they were powerful and in truth Touko was a little suspicious as to which ones it could be, no doubt she would be able to tell once she met Shiki herself but until then she just had to speculate, not that a Magus such as herself was bad at that in fact her skills in that field were top notch as one could say.

Walking up to the nurse at the reception Touko introduced herself "I'm Touko Aozaki, the speech therapist" she said with a friendly smile on her face, this would not take long as they were in fact expecting her, though after this point the easy part of all of this would end.

"Ah" the nurse said recognising the name she had been told. "I've been expecting you" the nurse stated. Turning her head to an isle she pointed at a specific door "She's in the room over there" the nurse said though it would have been very easy even without the help.

Touko knocked on the door labelled 'Shiki Ryougi' before she walked in. the Magus saw the girl sitting up though she was hunched over with bandages wrapped around her eyes due to the self inflicted damage she had caused to them. "Hi" Touko greeted the silent girl or young woman in a rather friendly and upbeat manner. "What's up?" she asked. Touko then walked over towards Shiki's bed still with a friendly smile on her face before she slightly leaned forward to get a better look at the girl. "Wow" the Magus said brushing some of her own red hair off of her face and glasses so she could get a better look at Shiki "I thought you'd look all worn out" Touko admitted "but your skin is quite smooth" the Magus noted still seeming friendly. Shiki herself made no effort to reply or give any indication that she had heard what Touko had said to her. She just sat there staring blindly at something only she could see that was if she was even staring at all. "I pictured that you would be like a ghost under a cherry tree when I first heard of you" Touko informed her. "So I really wasn't up for this job" she explained "but" Touko added before the Magus paused before she reviewed what Shiki looked like or at least to others appeared to do so. "But" she continued "it turns out that your my kind of cutie" she stated "aren't I lucky" Touko asked or at least pretended to. Still not getting a reply from the girl, Touko cleared her throat "How do you do?" she asked formally "I'm Tokou Aozaki, I'm a Speech Therapist" the Puppet Master introduced herself. "I came to help you recover from your aphasia" she informed Shiki leaning in closer to her "pleased to meet you" Touko finished while waving her hand in a friendly manner in front of Shikis apparently unseeing face. This did seem to actually get a response from the so far silent and unresponsive young woman who had been looking away from her this entire time.

"Who has Aphasia?" Shiki asked in a rather cold and mature fashion that reminded Touko of Mal, whenever he spoke. Still it was clear that the girl did not believe or e even knew that she did not have Aphasia so this would make it a lot easier for someone who understood.

"It's alright" Touko said to Shiki "I know" she stated "It's a misdiagnosis and that you're lazy" Touko informed her as she walked away from the bed to the window of the room. "But your at fault too, you know?" the Magus asked her rhetorically "After all you did damage you brain in the accident" Touko began "it's natural that they think you have Aphasia if you don't say anything" she explained ruffling the curtain. "So why am I here?" Touko asked still being friendly and with a smile on her face "Its a long story but." the Magus began. Shiki was not listening and instead was blindly searching for the way to wall a nurse to the room. Before she managed to get a hold of it Touko quickly took it out of the girls hand. "That was close" Touko said with a relieved sigh as she held onto the contraption so that Shiki could not be able to use it to get rid of her "I was about to lose my job only a minute into it" Touko said to the expressionless girl who seemed rather keen of getting rid of her. Despite the fact that at the moment Touko was probably the only person here who could help her.

"You" Shiki began again in her mature fashion which made Tokou mildly wonder if this girl and Mal would get along her friend Mikiya had pointed out some of their traits and thought they would. "You are not a doctor, are you?" Shiki stated more than asked in any sense.

Touko closed her eyes still with a friendly smile on her face. "Nope" she answered cheerfully "I'm actually a Magus" she informed Shiki so the girl could understand what was going on at this very moment. Not that the girl herself did not have some vague idea in any case.

"I have no business with any Magi" Shiki Ryuogi said coldly telling Touko that she should leave. It seemed that her family had thaught her well, when one knew of the traditional Magus's character Touko knew she was lucky that Shiki was not being openly hostile or violent.

Touko simply laughed in good humour. "You're right" she agreed. "A Magus cannot fill the in your chest" Touko informed Shiki letting the girl know that she knew of her problem. "The only one's who can fill that hole you have now are normal people" Touko explained.

"The hole in my chest?" Shiki asked in a cautious manner still not showing any other signs of responding, apparently this was new for her but it also seemed that this was merely naming the sensation that the young woman had been feeling ever since she had woken up.

"Yes" Touko said to her "You have already realised that you are alone now" Touko informed the expressionless girl. "right?" she whispered softly so that it was barely audible. Shiki gasped as she heard this and for the first time turned to face Tokou, an expression of shock written on the girls face. Touko for her part stood up from where she had been leaning "I guess I came too early" Touko stated "so we'll stop here" she informed Shiki. "I'll see you tomorrow, bye" Touko waved as she left the girl alone in the room on her own to reflect.

* * *

Mikiya Kokutou looked up as he heard a car park and saw his employer Touko Aozaki run hurriedly through the rain to the building where Garan no Dou was currently situated "is Shiki doing okay?" was the first thing he asked. Then again it was no real surprise to anyone

"Yeah" Touko replied in a rather tired fashion as a she wiped off raind from her orange jacket. "At least for now" the Magus added letting the youth know that things could go either way with his friend. Still that did warrant the response that Mikiya gave her to this statement.

"You mean for now?" he asked rather frantic with concern, who could blame him, his friend and love interest had been in a coma for two years he was already in university and when she had went into the coma both of them had yet to finish high school, so it was warranted

Tokou chose to ignore that question, Mikiya was not part of the Moonlit world so he couldn't know, though how he remained not apart of it was beyond her, the boy was stuck in them middle of it and somehow was unable to see it perhaps a unique trait that only he possessed. "Oh" Touko began "its so cold" she stated hugging herself for emphasis before she turned to face Mikiya "lets about some tea upstairs?" she said or more akin to ordered as she threw the key to Mikiya before walking off ignoring whatever else he could have had to say to her.

"Hey Tokou san" Mikiya called after her before he sighed knowing that she was hiding something important from him and also knowing that he would not get any answers from her. With that Mikya resigned himself to follow after his employer before a thought struck him. " _Where is Mal?_ " Mikiy asked himself " _he normally is around as Touko as she normally likes to keep her son in her sights so he doesn't get up to mischief as she put it, but she couldn't take him with her to visit Shiki so he should have been left at the building here._ " he mused.

From what he knew of the boy, Mal was reserved and polite if a bit blunt Touko said that was the main reason he couldn't got to school like a normal child did, Mikiya could understand that but also knew that there was a lot more to it, Mal acted far too mature for a boy who was eleven years old and soon to be twelve. Mikiya himself only suspected this as Mal gave him the impression that he was looking into you and seeing through you whenever he spoke, while usually the silent type if you got him talking Mal did quite a bit to say to you. Sighing Mikiya hoped that Touko would deal with this or at least scold him, Mal was not spoilt but he seemed to lack common reason in some cases, not that Mikiya blamed him, he was a rather interesting person to have around and at times Mal even seemed nice to him.

* * *

Mal sat in the rain from his vantage point simply looking out at Mifune city, part of him enjoyed being on the highest building as it allowed him some space away from others, if it were not raining the pre teen would have brought something to read, something educational for that matter. Whenever he tried reading fiction Mal found himself frustrated with the characters in the book, the story itself was not really a problem, such things were not meant to be real or true but Mal found that he didn't really care about that, some characters Mal found to be rather familiar, not as who they were but as if he had known someone similar before the fire of Fuyuki City. That is what aggravated Mal the fact that he had something the reminded him of his past that weren't the memories he saw and it was out of his reach that was it.

Bringing his hand up to look at it Mal stared at it for a few moments before he decided to at least attempt to perform his most recent discovery, this time it was directly linked to thaumaturgy and Touk warned him of how dangerous it was, considering that art itself was not complete. Mal took in several deep breaths as he reached into himself for what he was about to perform. If done right he knew that this would definitely work he just needed to accurately, he just needed to follow the steps he himself had outlined, if only it were that easy.

" _Judging the concept of creation_ " Mal had the image form in his mindin a blank void that then blurred as if the darkness was being pulled away to reveal something.

" _Hypothesising the basic structure_ " lines like that of a diagram could be seen extending in their millions each linked with others as more was of them were revealed forming an object that Mal envisioned.

" _Duplicating the composition material_ " this part was difficult as Mal had the hardest time so far actually grasping the exact material of this object. Mal then felt his artificial Magic Circuits that he had made by cannibalising his nerves flare up along with his actual ones. Perhaps he should not have been attempting this particular object however every dream he had with it visible in it screamed out for him to do so. Reaching deeper into himself Mal felt his body alight as with sheer willpower and tenacity he pushed his body through this phase

" _Imitating the skill of its making_ " This was harder but it didn't cause Mal pain with any of his circuits true or otherwise. This required the pre teen to concentrate carefully with no form of distraction, fortunately the rain did not count as Mal found it rather relaxing and it did serve to ease the heat he felt from his circuits. Carefully Mal was able to replicate it's history though he suspected that it may have had something to do with his incarnate status as to his origin and element more than his skill, this was something he could rectify in the near future, very near future

" _Sympathising with the experience of its growth_ " Mal recalled and felt through the experiences of this one item, despite it being in his memories no matter who held it he never saw anyone remotely like him in them, even if it were that memory viewed by the one who wielded it's point of view. This in itself linked to the next step which mate the process easier but not easy for him.

" _Reproducing the accumulated years_ " fortunately for him the previous step had helped show that so going through it this time was easier on his mental state, Mal made a note to find a way to make older objects less painful to _trace_ as he had decided to call it after consulting Touko for her professional opinion. No doubt she would scold him for this if she discovered that he had done this without her there to supervise, there really was no if but there was a false hope that she would not notice with the situation with Shiki Ryougi going on, but Mal doubted that he could get anything past her yet. Now came the final part were he would usual fail.

" _Excelling every manufacturing process_ " Mal once again felt his body or ore accurately his magic circuits ignite as the final stage took its toll on him. Teeth clenched and eyes screwed shut in immense pain Mal found that he had now clenched his fists tightly as he fell over, the fall didn't cause him any pain compared to what he was in however the trauma to the head was enough caused the young Magus to pass out if only momentarily, the pain too much for him to bear at that very moment in time.

Mal awoke and cursed himself for his failure ready to try again after he recovered for a bit, still the shame of having gone so far only to achieve nothing weighed heavily on the boy. That was until he realised that one of his hands had something grasped firmly within his grip. Mal also noticed something else, it was red and hindering his vision wiping it away the boy recognised that the red substance was blood, his blood. Reasoning that it must have been the by product of his attempts at tracing Mal got a better look at what he was holding on to.

Next to him was lay an intricate hammer, it was also the weapon or to be more specific the tool that Mal had been trying to trace, while it seemed to possess hidden power that shimmered just beneath the surface the history of this object was never one to be used in battle. No this Hammer was made to craft items of legend. And now it was his, or to be more specific a copy of it was now in Mal's possession. Mal tried to move it but realised that he was too physically tired to move at this point. Using the same magic he had to create his artificial Magic Circuits Mal forced vitality through his body repairing his damaged nerves and cells, reinforcement was not of any use to him just yet as at the moment Mal needed to have the energy to move. Finally after fixing himself up the boy stood up and found that he was in a pool of his own blood mixed with rainwater, knowing that it was a very bad idea to leave an evidence that he had been here Mal quickly cleared it up before he took the hammer away concealing it with a rag he had on hand before heading back to where he and Touko resided.

* * *

Touko walked up to where Mikiya was waiting for her and took the orange mug held out for her before she sat down on her desk "It's not like you'll die" she told him no doubt referring to his friend Shiki Ryougi and the situation that was surrounding her for the moment. As she took a sip of the tea he had made Touko then looked at Mikiya who had yet to make a response "you shouldn't go to see her yet" she advised. Referring to the condition Shiki was in only letting Mikiya know that it was rather important without letting him know it exactly.

"She's okay" Mikiya stated "right?" to his credit he had been visiting her as the nurses had gossiped for two years without fail 'like a puppy' so not seeing Shiki was okay, not knowing if she was alright however was what was actually troubling the young man at the moment.

Touko looked long and hard at Mikiya before looking up at the window and the grey sky filled with rain. "Yes" she answered after what had seemed like an eternity that was in truth a few moments. "It's seems Mal has gone outside again" Touko noted with a sigh changing the subject. "I know it's expected since he is young boy, but at times I feel that I need to keep him on a leash so that he doesn't do anything that will cause me trouble" Mikiya had noted that in the time he had known the boy, Mal was not one to cause trouble though he had a strong sense of what he referred to as right and wrong which Mal was ore than happy to enact out whenever he saw what he deemed _unsightly_. Not that either of them could blame him after all Mal was mostly just helping others when he did this, though his methods as such were rather strange. Then again perhaps being rather aloof or sometimes cruel when you went about helping someone was perhaps not the best thing with the boy's method of choice, if the person involved didn't know he was helping them it would have been very different.

Mikiya had always considered the relationship between the two to be strange despite the fact that Mal was Tokou's _son_. Perhaps it was at Touko's request or perhaps it was due to the boys odd nature but he only ever referred to his _mother_ by either her first or last name with a respectful san at the end of it. That said Mal was an odd one, overly mature and highly if not rather frighteningly intelligent, and he had been with Touko most of his life, Mikiya considered it a small miracle that Mal could interact with others at all, given the way he behaved. Still such were the joys of parenthood and Mikiya could not see Touko being a normal parent, perhaps the lack of love for lack of a better word at least on Mal part may be a genetic thing, as Mikiya had yet to see the boy express any emotion strongly other than being serious. "Well Mal is a smart kid" Mikiya stated, talk about understatement in his opinion at any rate. "I'm sure he knows how to handle himself if he gets in any trouble, besides it's not like he has come back here with his problems as he would have dealt with them before arriving."

"I know that Mal can handle himself" Touko replied "that is partly why I am concerned about it." The 'Red' then closed her eyes for a moment "he does have his own way of dealing with things and tries to think of something knew each time" she explained leaving it at that.

"Well it's getting dark soon so he should be back" Mikiya stated forgetting that he had first met Mal in a dimly lit room and that the pre teen was quite at home in the dark not seeing anything wrong with it, nor that Mal did frequently venture out in the night for certain things.

* * *

Touko looked at Mal as he entered his workshop holding something wrapped in a rag. Noticing that she was here in the part she had designated for him to work in as a Magus he looked up "Hello" he greeted her mainly out of the fact that she had taught him to do more than anything else. Sometimes there were times when Touko wished he would not do as he had been taught this was one of those occasions. She also knew that Mal needed to practise as he still had a mechanical tint to his speech patterns, making it appear as if they were forced.

Touko sighed, they were indeed forced but only people as good as her or Kiritsugu could tell that at this point, more to the point you would have to be looking for it, otherwise he would just appear aloof and estranged. "Where have you been?" she asked the red haired boy.

Mal looked her with his gaze that made the person who saw it feel as if he saw their soul as he answered. "Tracing, that form of gradation air as I was developing" he informed Touko patting whatever he had been carrying, Touko could make out the ruff shape of a hammer.

More interested than annoyed Touka asked "and what was this you managed to _trace_ as you called it" she asked in curiosity. Feeling the item beneath the rag as Mal had put it on one of the desks he had set up in this part of the building, feeling the design but not seeing it. "May I?" she asked to which Mal nodded. Removing the rag the sister of the 'Blue' was greeted with the sight of an intricate hammer brimming with power of the likes she had never seen. She knew that tracing as Mal had put it required him to have seen the object, so this must have been something from the memories she had seen, making it very dangerous and extremely powerful from what she knew. A good thing she was Mal's teacher Touko had a vague idea of what terror Mal could wreak without a Magus as a Mentor or to be more exact with a dying ma like Kiritsugu as his mentor meaning that he may not have developed the ability to pretend to be normal like she had taught him. No doubt sooner of later Kiritsugu would have had to send him to school and that would have been a total and utter disaster. "Do you intend to keep this as a mystic code?" she asked her pupil, she was unsure whether or not if he had heard about Gaia actively rejecting such creations of gradation air, but Touko wanted to be sure just in case Mal may have not been paying attention even if he usually did.

Mal shook his head "No, I will be using it to make mystic codes" he informed her, not needing to tell her that he planned to make use of said mystic codes with his tracing to make more of them, Touko already figured that much the moment Mal had finished speaking.

"Well that is rather impressive no doubt that is the reason you made that anvil a while back" the Magus noted. "I wonder if you could make something for me with that?" she thought aloud idly also knowing that Mal would do it if she asked him, he was nice in that sense.

"I still need more time on _that_ " Mal replied already knowing what Touko was referring to. "the problem is not reaching the records of Akasha it is going there and getting back, I myself have several theories on how to return but I need more evidence before I make the trip."

Touko idly wondered if that meant he had discovered a means by which to reach root and had not taken it. With what he had said Mal's reasons were sound, meaning that he was not a normal Magus obsessed with such things and only thought of it in passing. The 'Red' herself did not truly desire to get there but more desired a means to get the Mage's association of her back, the True Magic seemed a very good way of doing so. True Magic or Mal, the boy was very much capable of dealing with them as he was, but he might overdo it so it was better if Mal did not confront anyone from the Mage's Association just yet, that meant having him keep a low profile and since most of the project Mal wished to undertake seemed to be rather grand in scale it was a bit of a hassle. Touko still wan not a hundred percent sure is she had convinced Mal not to build that Pyramid he designed under Fuyuki to act as his workshop. He knew he had not been deterred as all of his animated corpses had vanished soon afterwords, no doubt beginning construction on that project of his. While it may have been a little to grand for her liking Touko also knew that it was the perfect place to hide should she ever was in need of such a place. So all she had to do was ask Mal and she could stay in his underground pyramid fortress as it were without having to worry about being discovered.

It was then after using structural analysis on this item that Touko realised something "Mal" she began and waited until she had his undivided attention. "Gaia is not rejecting its presence, almost as if it is not being seen by Gaia" she explained not needed to tell Mal any more as to Gaia and the worlds relation with Magi."Do you know what this means?" she asked to which Mal nodded. "Good never let anyone else realise this otherwise it will be you against the entire of the moonlit world, this is almost on the level of denial of nothingness and that is a true magic" she explained firmly. Touko knew that Mal had most probably drained himself immensely in the creation of this object, considering that he was standing before her must have been due to his other unique talents in magecraft. With that in mind Touko then decided that she could kill to birds with one stone. "Mal what would you think of paying the Hospital a visit?" she asked him and from the look in his eyes the boy knew where this conversation was headed. Perfect.

* * *

 **So yeah with the Tracing I decided that with the wind of Chamon Mal A.K.A Shirou would be able to prevent them from being eroded by Gaia, as you should have seen it was far from painless and was only achievable because he has four of the winds of Magic within him plus Avalon otherwise he would have died.**

 **Also sorry for the lack of action in this chapter I decided to cut it short so it didn't take too long as I could see it dragging on for at least another four thousand words at least. And so I could play some World of Warcraft before work tomorrow.**

 **Anyways than you for reading this if there is anything any of you would like to add please leave a review or Pm me feedback is welcome (no seriously reviews are what motivate me when I am writing the next chapter though it is their quality more than quantity). If you do have something to share then it would be preferable for me that you leave it as a review rather than a PM as when I am writing the next chapter it will be easier for me to reference and sort that way.**


	7. Chapter 06: Hollow Shrine 02

**So yeah I was able to write another Chapter of this fic within the week, but barely, this chapter is a little longer as I decided to encorporate the rest of Hollow Shrine into it so I didn't end up writing three chapters. Also thanks to those of you who reviewed, I appreciate that also VurD (Guest) I haven't chosen anyone to pair him with at the moment but I was leaning towards Sakura given Mal's darker nature than Shirou. Anyway here is chapter six I hope you enjoy.**

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" _Secondhand smoke kills, you know. It's far worse than the fumes you inhale directly. Take diethylene, one of those nasty carcinogens your doctor might have warned you about on your last visit. Firsthand smoke has between 5.3 and 43 nanograms of diethylene, whereas, secondhand smoke has 680 and 823 we've got quinoline, another effective one, secondhand smoke has 18,000 nanograms; 11 times more than the amount you're sucking down firsthand. You can make the choice to blacken your lungs, but don't expect to enforce that on me._ " November Eleven, Darker than Black

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Shiki Ryougi lay on her side in the hospital bed, her eye covered by the bandages in place after she had damaged her eyes soon after she had woken up after two whole years in a coma. The wind blew into the room making the curtains flail a little ands bringing a chill to the room. The chill and the breeze disturbed the young woman and woke Shiki from her sleep who gasped silently as she rose from where she lay. Outside the soft footsteps of the nurse could be heard as she did the night round checking up no each patient every half an hour.

Shiki felt even colder as she shivered, the girl began to hear whispers of malign nature as she huddle up on herself. If Shiki did not have her blindfold on she would have seen the ominous glowing blue lights that darted around her and the room as if they were searching for something. It was then that something cold touched he, causing Shiki to recoil at what she felt from it. The ominous whispers seemed to get louder but not yet coherent as this happened. For a few moments the being that was touching her just waited there as the noises around Shiki grew louder and more malign in their intent. "I'm going in?" a distorted voice said. Shiki recognised this voice as it was her own, for a moment she envisioned what she had looked like two years ago before the accident looking at her with a wicked grin on her it's face.

At this moment before anything could go any further, the room became even darker for lack of a better word and the ominous whispers around Shiki began to fade away quickly almost as if they were being sucked away. The being whatever it was that had been holding on to Shiki felt like it was forcibly but also smoothly ripped from it's purchase in a fluid motion. Soon the whispers and the cold sensation that the young woman was feeling were no longer around and the room seemed to be less dark than it had been barely a few moments before. It was then that a voice spoke to Shiki "darkness does not scare you" a young but mature and serious voice said to her in a casual manner. "I wonder then, are your nightmares filled with a darkness darker than black?" the voice whom she determined to be a young boy asked.

Shiki was at a loss for words by the question. She did not understand what the child was asking however there was something else that needed to be asked. "Who are you and why are you here?" Shiki questioned the other person in the room, besides her there should be none.

"I was only asked to come here and see who the restless dead were trying to possess" the boy answered. Shiki could not see him but she had a feeling from the way the words were spoken that he had the same stern and rather cold expression she usual wore on his face. "You're Mikiya's friend Shiki Ryougi" the boy said revealing that he knew Kokutou on a personal level or at least knew him well enough. "You are very lucky to possess a friend like him" the boy continued "most people would have given up on you after the first few months much less two years" he explained. "His care for you must run deep" the boy then paused as if in thought. "not to be ruse but since you are human, in my experience it would mean that you, theoretically would not share that level of care or concern that he possess" he said. Shiki knew that the boy was not being rude so she didn't reply however what he asked next would demand an answer due to it rather delicate nature. "I wonder is your level of concern on the same level of Mikiya's if your positions were reversed would you have visited him."

Shiki knew the answer to this question. Mikiya was someone precious to her despite the fact that an outside observer would not ever truly believe that. So without a moments pause she nodded to the boy's question not too quickly but still enough for it to be true all the same.

"That" the boy began "is new" he finished. "I did not truly expect you to answer like that, though I do not doubt that you are being truthful, I believe the word I am looking for is 'refreshing'. It is refreshing to meet someone who returns what they are given" the boy stated.

Shiki was surprised by this admission, but given what she knew of the world the boy was not false in his assumptions, they would have been correct if Shiki herself were a normal person, as fate or some other unknown higher power did have it she was anything but normal. At last Shiki was able to perceive the direction the boys voice was coming from. It seemed to be at the side of the room where the young woman suspected that the windows were. "How" Shiki began before pausing "how did you get here?" she asked the boy she couldn't see.

"Shadows are everywhere and where they are so am I" the boy cryptically replied, only hinting at how he may have entered her room, there was the chance that he had simply climbed in through the window but she doubted he would have entered in a way as simple as that. The boy let out a sigh, "my apologies'" he said to her. "I have once again talked to someone who I know, and failed to introduce myself" the boy informed her. "Everyone just calls me Mal, it is short for my full name but no one has ever referred to me by it" he explained. "But I am inclined to believe that you will not be satisfied with this answer" he informed Shiki who nodded to his assumption. "my family name is Emiya and my given name is Malekith" the boy informed her. "It is quite the pleasure to meet you Shiki Ryougi." he said.

"Malekith?" Shiki asked tasting the word in her mouth and finding it foreign, not just foreign in the sense that it did not sound native to Japan or even China, but foreign as if the name itself had a rather otherworldly quality to it, almost as if it didn't belong but only almost.

"I didn't choose it" Mal informed her. "Nor do I remember the parents who gave it to me, though I do possess a few memories of them, but there is no mental connection for me" he explained. So Mal was a child with amnesia or with dead parents that was something new.

Shiki chose not to speak after that and simply lay down again, she had arrived to the conclusion that Mal whoever he was had been sent here by that woman Touko Aozaki, most probably to make sure the 'restless dead' as he put it didn't try anything to her for the moment. It also seemed that if she wasn't going to engage in conversation Mal was content to oblige her, the boy seemed to remain silent as he presumably watched Shiki fall off to sleep before he turned his eyes to look out the window, whatever thoughts he had Mal did not voice them.

* * *

Shiki awoke unaware of when she had fallen asleep, from the rays of light that she could feel coming into the room, it must be during the early hours of the day just with the sun rising. Also she noticed that she was alone, Mal appeared to have left without a trace that the boy had even been there. Shiki wondered when he had left but seeing as no other spirits had interrupted her sleep she felt that he must have stayed at least until all of them had ceased activity, which would have most likely been a daybreak so Mal could not have left too long ago.

Shiki was fully awake when the nurse went into her room and drew the curtains back to let more of the light into the room. She also opened the window that had been closed letting some fresh air into the room. As the nurse did this Shiki heard the flutter of two pairs of wings beating as most probably two small birds landed on the windowsill much to the nurse's delight. Shiki herself just sat up neglecting to make any real action or any effort to interact with the nurse. She was content to simply sit there without purpose, at least for the time being.

" _It's so beautiful here_ " Shiki noted imagining what it looked like outside. " _It's so happy_ " she said to herself all of these things she had thought of were true. "But humans are so alone" she said to herself, this thing was also true, that boy she had met last night was also alone.

Later another nurse came into the room with what Shiki could smell was flowers "here you go, miss Ryougi" the nurse said as she placed the flowers in the vase that was already in place next to Shiki's bed. "Your friend Kokutou brought these in for you again" she explained.

Shiki noted that during the days that followed when there was sunlight out the woman who had come to here under the guise of a councillor named Touko Aozaki would visit her during the day. At night the boy named Malekith or Mal as he referred to himself as would stay with her. At one point Shiki realised that she had become dependant on her conversation with Touko, and simply being around Mal during the night. While the former talked to her, the latter only did so when she herself talked to him and even then Mal would request that she save her strength and sleep. The boy also said that he was not good with talking to people and he was better at listening to them. This surprised Shiki but she understood and only spoke to him when she had something on her mind that had occurred in the day after Touko had left. In a way Shiki knew it was good for her, as she realised that she was not the only one being treated here. It seemed that Mal been sent to watch over he by Touko for a reason, though he had not yet revealed this other reason, by he may have been he was unaware of it.

It was during one of her talks with Touko that a rather interesting topic for the Magus came up.. "I see" Tokou stated as she walked around the hospital room and then sat on Shiki's bed. "It's not that SHIKI didn't have initiative over the body, but it's that he didn't use it" she explained referencing the male persona of Shiki's that every member of her clan possessed. Touoko now turned her head from where she was facing to look at Shiki but due to the blindfold it was she couldn't look her in the eyes. "The two of you are getting more interesting."

Shiki for her part looked away from where she knew Touko was sitting "there is nothing interesting about a dual personality" she replied to the magus's in her usual manner but it seemed slightly weaker than she was usually, Shiki may have been a little tired or a bit weak.

Touko made a chiding noise at her "the two of you don't exist as something as simple as a dual personality" the 'Red' explained to Shiki. "The two of you exist at the same time, each having their own experiences and will and yet the actions you take are the same" Tokou informed her "There isn't any other cases of such a complex and bizarre personality" Touko stated clapping her hands together and looking up at the ceiling and then at Shiki. "It should be called composite individual personalities" she reasoned looking at Shiki with a smile.

Shiki was hesitant but to the outside eye she may have appeared as confused "composite individual personalities?" she repeated though, the young woman was also asking a question at the same time. Like what they were talking about or what she had been smoking recently.

"Yup" Touko replied nodding her head slightly, "but that still leaves some unanswered questions" Touko informed Shiki. "If it is composite individual personalities, there's no need for SHIKI kun to sleep" Touko explained referring to SHIKI as male though Shiki was a girl. Once again Touko turned her head to look at Shiki "you say he's always sleeping but that is what bugs me" she informed the girl. It was then that Touko noticed something that she believed she should tell Shiki "I'm afraid Mal will be coming a little late to keep you company tonight" she informed Shiki. "something came up earlier in the morning that required his attention and I have not been able to find him since." After saying this Touko sighed. "That boy can be quite the handful at times" she said to herself "I guess it is a very good thing thing he doesn't go out of his way to cause trouble and actively tries to avoid it, however I guess it is in the boys peculiar nature to behave the way he does" the 'Red' reasoned. "Will you be fine?" Touko asked Shiki who nodded hesitantly. After seeing this Touko left the hospital.

* * *

Tokou sat in her office with a mug of tea in her hands. She had gotten back from her talk with Shiki but Mikiya had been out with work and some other things so she hadn't been able to tell him things finally after he had come back to the building and asked it Touko decided to finally answer him "she's empty" she informed Mikiya. "Her chest is open just like a hole" the 'Red' elaborated for the young man who was listening with sadness in his heart at this piece of news. "But no matter how much she can't feel herself she still is Shiki Ryougi." Touko explained. "she probably doesn't even have a sense of being alive, but there will come a time that she will realise she Shiki" she informed Mikiya with some hopeful news for him at least.

"A rose is born a rose" Touko explained looking at her tea "it won't turn into another flower just because it was grown using a different kind of soil or water." after this Touko took a sip of the tea Mikiya made, it was not as good as the one Mal had makes but she couldn't make the boy cook for her all the time. "Ultimately you have to fill the hole with something" Touko explained she had started wondering whether she was talking about Mal or Shiki as the line blurred at this point.

"Not with memories, you have to build on the present and start building a new self" she stated. "No one can help her build that 'temple'" Touko informed Mikiya who listened intently. "Basically, you just have to interact with her the way you have been doing" the 'Red' explained with a slight upbeat to her tone as Mikiya looked up at this. No doubt he was eager to help his friend in whatever way he possibly could.

* * *

In truth Shiki was truly fortunate to possess a friend as dedicated to her as Mikiya, he was one in a million, it also just so happened that another one in a million was below, working on a particular project of his, bit this individual was far more different than Mikiya was.

Mal wiped the sweat from his brow. Using the hammer to it's full capabilities did take a lot out of him both physically and spiritually. The red haired boy recalled that he had almost deafened himself when he first began using it as it had caused his ears to start bleeding, Mal had managed to whether through the first few times and eventually he had been able to become adept at using it. Today Mal had finished his first real work, the previous uses of the hammer had been beating the impurities out of the material he had been using and imbuing that same material with prana and the other energies he had been using. The spirits that had been foolish enough to try and get by him in the hospital he had used to their emotions to power this particular mystic code he had crafted. Tokou had told him that a Magus's very first mystic code that they made was important as in some Magus's cases keeping it was the closest thing they had to being sentimental. Also it reflected what kind of Magus they were and where they may go. Mal himself had been very careful in the creation of this Mystic code.

Mal himself had spent hours during the day hammering in his workshop, finally he had completed it. Taking a step back to review his work the pre teen noticed that he had been influenced into making it a very dark colour, red baleful eyes glared at him from the visor and it stood a few feet taller than him. Mal looked at the suit of armour with satisfaction, while it was obvious no one would be able to wear it that was not what it was for. Mal when he had been researching his brand of magic that necromancy appeared to have originated from noticed that there was a process of binding a soul or souls to an inanimate object. At first Mal did not understand the point of it until he realised how such things could effect weapons, a gun or bullet that had actual spit behind it would be more likely to hit it's target in a fatal and rather cruel position than one that didn't. He had first tested this theory by collecting several of the souls of the people he chose not save by saving the one's who they were endangering and managed after through much trial and error to bind the collective souls to a knife.

Mal had chosen a Serial killer, a rapist and finally just some other random thugs. When he had employed the knife noticed that there was a viciousness to it that was not there before, it was as if the echoes of the souls were aiding in its strikes making it aim for particular fatal places. While this was something the boy was delighted in discovering he had also found a way to use them as an energy source, so now before him powered by the souls of as Mal put it 'the dammed' stood Mals very first non animated corpse servant. Like the others this one did require his will to function however it was capable of more complex tasks and commands. Mal poured his will for lack of a better term into the armour and watched it almost spasm for a bit before it stood up straighter and the red lenses it had gleamed in the dim light.

The mystic code then lifted up it's gauntleted hand and flexed it as if cracking it's knuckles with only one hand, while most suits of armour would screech or squeak in protest this one did so with barely any noise if with any at all. Then it began to move, at first just walking before it performed several far more complex actions. At first the movements were sluggish but it seemed that it was just Mal getting used to using it, or perhaps the mystic code was getting used to being used, in short order it was moving fluidly with a near matchless grace.

Mal looked at his work with pride and found immense satisfaction from it. Then the boy looked at the clock and knew that he better get moving as it was late, Touko had told him to take his time, but Mal himself knew that it was better to try and not take too long to get there.

* * *

The next day Tokou visited Shiki as usual and the began their talk. "Yes." Touko stated "as long as he is gone you cannot regain the lapse in your memory" the Magus informed Shiki referring to the girls male persona. "Now we really have no way of finding out how SHIKI was concerned with those murders two years ago" the 'Red' explained. After she had said this Touko let out a light and short laugh "but there was no reason for SHIKI kun to disappear" she stated catching Shiki by surprise the girl did vie a small gasp at this. "Because you Shiki san would have disappeared instead if he didn't do anything" Touko explained with a rather serious look on her face, not that Shiki could see it behind her bandages. Touko now looked at Shiki from where she sat "now why did SHIKI kun wish to disappear?" she asked.

"I don't know" Shiki answered, she didn't know or didn't recall it, more likely the former but there was a reason for it but her answer was smooth and fluid. "Anyway" Shiki began trying to change the subject or it at least attempting to "what about the scissors?" she asked.

"Oh" Touko said with a little more cheer in her voice than she had a moment ago "as expected they didn't let me bring them in" the 'Red' explained. "You have a previous offence so they are prohibiting any kind of blades" she explained and Shiki sighed at this bit. "By the way what do you want with them?" Touko asked in a friendly manner, clearly the Magus was interested as to why the girl wanted them, though she also knew that Shiki did not desire it for anything violent at the moment, but that was at the moment and it could change later.

Shiki lifted her hand to one of the bangs of hair that fell past her face and ran her hand along it, stroking the hair. "I just want to cut my hair" Shiki explained still stroking it, from what Mikiya had spoken of her, Shiki had used to have shorter hair before her accident.

"Then I can call for a hairdresser" Touko offered trying to be nice. "It'll be a celebration for your recovery, I can bring in a very skilled one" she tried to convince Shiki though from personal experience she knew that it was next to useless to convince the girl but she did try.

"No" Shiki replied. "I don't even want to think about someone else touching my hair" she said to Touko. It appeared that Shiki in truth was very self concious of her personal space and awkward about it, not that it was a bad thing as Touko did understand why she did.

"You're so cute" Touko informed Shiki, being honest about it, though her reasons for not desiring another to cut her hair was because in the 'Red's' mind a female Magus's hair was an extremely valuable resource, she had traded some of hers years back to obtain a familiar. Touko now stood up and collected her jacket and bag from the chair she left them on. "I'll get going now" she told Shiki, "perhaps Mal can help you when he comes by later tonight, if you want him to that is." Tokou added just before she exited the room, "do send my regards to him when you meet as I might be coming tomorrow as a different person." As the 'Red' left leaving Shiki alone she took out her glasses case from her jacket, with the intent on taking her spectacles off. " _I wonder how things will turn out_ " 'Red' thought to herself as she left.

Later that night Mal came to watch over Shiki. The young woman confided in him what she wanted and why, Mal informed her that he would see what he could do though he wasn't allowed to leave her until daybreak. This was enough for Shiki who was satisfied with him.

* * *

The next night Shiki sat alon in the room recalling what the doctor had said to her and how her parents had been present for it. Recalling the memory and what she had seen Shiki repeatedly said 'no' over and over again trying to deny what she had seen. Finally she yelled out "no!" Shaking her head Shiki continued "I don't want to see such a world again" the girl stated referring to the red lines that ran along and splintered everything that she saw, making it seem as if the whole world were falling apart around her. Slowly but with purpose she lifted her hands up to gouge her eyes. "I'll do anything but fall into that darkness" Shiki stated referring to a dream she had where she had been falling with SHIKI into a bottomless black pit. Carefully Shiki began to place pressure on her eyes as she was going to gouge them.

"Desist" a stern and cold sounding voice instructed and Shiki hesitated not sure where the voice had come from. A small but strong hand that would belong to a child moved her hands and pulled them away from her face. "You make your actions far too rash" it said to her. Shiki could feel the weight of the words and the tone that was behind them. "Gouging out your eyes will not prevent you from seeing how you were intended to, in the end it would be a painful but fruitless experience" the voice informed her sounding very familiar and cold.

Shiki tried to yank her arm away from this person only to find it held tight in their iron grasp, the hand itself felt rather warm and also cold at the same time. "Are you human?" Shiki asked as she had known of the spirits that Mal had been warding off for her during the night.

There was a sound like a snort or perhaps a short laugh, it sounded hollow but Shiki was able to tell that it held genuine mirth. "I am not the best one to answer that." the owner of the voice informed her. "am I a human being?" they asked rhetorically, and Shiki felt her arm being let go and envisioned the owner of the small hand looking at his own with his other one. "I don't have the answer to to that question, yet" he informed her. Shiki was sure the person or thing talking to her was male at least they sounded a bit like it, they were still a kid. "Tell me then" the boy asked in a very mature manner "that darkness you spoke of, that darkness you sought to escape, is it so scary?" the boy asked "Is it really darker than black?" he asked and finally the last piece clicked for Shiki as to who this person over her really was.

"Mal?" Shiki said surprised at hearing how different the boy sounded when he was a little serious or was it actually annoyed. "Mal is that you?" the young woman asked. She had been known about Mal but she hadn't sensed him arrive so she had assumed that he wasn't there.

"Did you know that Aozaki san thought that she could teach you how to use those eyes" Mal informed Shiki reminding the girl that Touko herself was a magus. "I am told everything has flaws" the boy continued in a fashion that made him seem like no child at all. "That nothing is perfect, and that everything has an innate desire to break down and rebuild from scratch" it was clear that Mal was going somewhere with this. "It is possible that accident you were in two years ago caused your eyes to be able to recognise such flaws" he stated. At this point Shiki looked away trying to refuse to listen but Mal continued regardless "you can see lines that others cannot perceive, and since you have been close to death for so long, your brain can understand what they mean, as a result you can see deaths" the boy explained.

"Not only that but should you be able to even touch them" Mal left the rest of the sentence unfinished as he waited for her to recall what had happened when she had first awoken, after he saw that she had he continued. "That's right Shiki Ryougi it's time for you to awaken" Mal sighed after this. "You were never not from the moonlight world" he stated "I cannot even conceive how you would be able to hope for a normal life or even happiness in such things" he confessed. "I just can't hope understand other's when it comes to that" he explained.

"I don't have the will to live" Shiki replied to Mal's little explanation. "You have been with me here this entire time or at least during the night hours should know that by now" she stated. "You should have seen that at the very least, but can you even understand how it feels?"

The hospital room suddenly dropped in temperature making everything feel even colder than when the evil spirits that had been attempting to possess Shiki. "I know far too well" Mal informed her. "I was taken from a fire of magical causes without any memory as to who I was" the boy stated. "I possess memories of events I am sure that was not present for or that I am unsure even existed my name itself is derived from these false memories as one could call them, yet have I ever burdened any of this on you or anyone?"the boy challenged silencing Shiki with this revelation.

Mal once again took a deep breath as if calming himself "I can understand your distress about losing SHIKI and waking up a different person, but that is all there is to it, you still have memories even if there are lapses in them" Mal stated, "Even though you have no will to live, it is clear that you desire not to die" Mal informed her. "You want anything but to escape that darkness after all" he stated. "Just remember that a shadow is only cast begause there is light to enable it" he murmured cryptically.

"Saying that you don't possess a reason to live does not mean that you desire your own death" Mal explained. It's rather pathetic really, you cannot choose between life and death and have chosen not to make a choice, remember inaction is also a choice so by choosing to be in the between the two you have made one" Mal informed her. "If you continue to run away you will never stop running, that is all I will say on this matter"Mal stated as he walked away though most probably backed away and somehow vanish into a corner of the hospital room. Just before he left Mal spoke once more "but, before you let yourself be devoured, just ask yourself this Shiki, did SHIKI really sacrifice himself for nothing at all?" with this Mal vanished as he had come leaving not trace of his being here or anything else for that matter.

* * *

The words that Mal had spoken to her echoed in Shiki's mind as she lay on the hospital bed, churning over and over in her head. Did SHIKI really die for nothing if she had no will to live and intended to die just to escape? It was a difficult question to answer for Shiki. Whatever she could think on it was interrupted as heaving laboured breathing could be heard and a pair of strong arms latched around her throat beginning to strangle her. Shiki struggled as she was lifted up by the cold dead hands, "I'm going in" said a familiar voice. As the Spirit possessing the dead body lifted Shiki up as it strangled her. Suddenly it smiled letting out an evil sounding laugh as it believed that it was succeeding in whatever it's designs were, most likely trying to kill Shiki so that it could inhabit her mortal shell for some reason.

"Did SHIKI die for nothing at all?" Mals words once again echoed in Shiki's mind t a time like this. While most others would have seen such a thing as a pointless distraction for Shiki the timing could have not been more vital for her survival in this whole ordeal here.

" _That can't be true_ " Shiki said to herself as she recalled an event with car that had occurred in the past. " _because death is so lonely and worthless_ " Shiki realised what Mal had been telling her in their little interaction. Raeaching up she ccleached her own hands on the arms strangling her. " _Death is so ominous_ " Shiki said to herslef as she managed to grip both of the arms tightly. " _Death is more scary than anything else_ " Shiki said to herself as she resisted clenching down causing blood to spurt from the arms with how strong her grip really was.

"I don't want that" Shiki yelled as she forced the arms off of her throat. "I'll do anything excpet fall there!" Shiki declared as she kicked the corpse off the bed and rolled onto the floor because of the action. Getting to her feet Shiki got knocked by a flailing arm into the wall.

Shiki had been cornered to where the open window wass as the corpse moaned and charged at her she yelled "don't hesitate" to herself and turned and leapt out of the window. The Corpse too jumped out and latched onto her but Shiki used gravity to her advantage and managed to force it beneath her to cushion her fall. The two hit a ledge and shiki was trhown to the ground outside off the hospital managing to use her skills to land on her hands and feet but remaining weary as she had not yet seen her foe defeated or killed for the moment.

"I'm surprised" a familiar voice spoke out "are you some sort of feline?" Mal asked as he walked out of the bushes revealing that he had been nearby. "Touko had set up a bounded feildto ward off the spirits yesterday but they went and found a body so they could bypass it" he explained as the roaring of said spirit could be heard as it broke through the gateand charged the two with murderous intent. "from what I know of them which is a bit they usually are not that smart" Mal stated almost impressed with its creativity, but that was only almost. "Colour me intrigued" Mal stated before asking Shiki not looking at her. "If you want I can deal with this pest for you" he offered "however I feel that this is something you should overcome without my interference" the pre teen told her as the corpse charged straight at them.

"It doesn't matter if that thing is dead" Shiki stated rising to her feet "it is a living corpse" she began undoing the bandages around her eyes. "So, I'll kill it no matter what it is" Shiki declared as she looked at the creature with her Mystic Eyes of Death Perception.

"Shiki" Mal called out to her and through the young woman the knife he had bound several spirits to as it had been on hand. Catching it without even look Shiki faced her foe.

"This is my way" Shiki said to herself as she took her hair and cut it. Before she let the corpse grab her by the head. "You lump of death" Shiki referred to the corpse and the spirits residing in it as she cut it's hand spraying blood everywhere "begone from my sight" she said. With this Shiki stabbed it in the throat as it towered over her. Ripping it our she watched the corpse fall to the ground as the evil spirit that had acquired it departed from it in an attempt to escape. As her eyes stopped glowing Shiki saw Mal mannish the spirit with a look.

"It appears you did it" Mal commented as Shiki who had fallen to her knees rose to her feet again. Whether the boy was impressed or not was unknown as his tone was leveled and neutral.

"You said Touko could teach me how to use my eyes" Shiki stated however when she got no reply and turned around it seemed that Mal was remaining silent. As shiki felt herself falling down she was caught by the boy so she could not be injured as she fell asleep Shiki thought she saw Mal's eyes flash a pale and deathly blue for a moment.

"This ir rather pitiful too" Mal commented "but perhaps you have realised that to be hollow means that you can be filled without limit" the boy mused. "It's seems that you doubly as blessed as where else could you find such a future?" Mal asked rhetorically.

* * *

A young woman with blue eyes and long black hair lay down in the hospital bed with figure standing over her "are you Fujo Kirei?" a deep voice that did not belong to the girl asked.

"Are you father's friend?" Fujo asked with a tired expression on her face.

"I came to grant your wish" the man with the deep voice explained as he walked up to her. "Don't you want another body that can move freely?" he asked. To which Fujo nodded, with this the man outstretched his arm to her in a conservative and non dramatic way.

"What are you?" the Fujo asked with the blank expression on her face.

"A Magus" the man replied "Araya Souren" he stated.

* * *

Mal opened his eyes from the roof of Garan no Dou and sniffed the air, once, and then twice and finally three times getting accustomed to the scent. "I smell a Magus in the air" the boy stated in a dangerous tone as his eyes flashed a pale and deathly blue.

* * *

 **Yes finally the end I thought I would never finish it, seriously this felt like it was taking forever. Yes Hollow Shrine is done now onto the next once chronologically, otherwise I myself would be sitting here going wtf is going on.**

 **Anyways thanks for reading, if you have any desire to share any ideas or feedback that you could give please leave a review or PM, I have stated before that it would be more preferable to have a review as it is easier to reference that way when I am writing the next chapter.**

 **Until Next time.**


	8. Chapter 07: Remaining Sense of Pain 01

**So yeah a new chapter Chapter six if you don't count the Prologe that is, man I feel as if I am on fire or what the just the wood I was polishing on thursday, who knows that thing did smell like charcoal even though I am a hundred percent sure it was not burned. So yeah I was initially planning on wiring this with the Garden of Sinners: Remaining Sense of Pain being encompassed by the whole Chapter and then realised that I didn't want to be stuck with over ten thousand words as I would never be able to update it. Finally I was able to finish it, but seriously I was shokced at how little I was covering in this chapter and how long it stretched sorry about that.**

 **Anyways heres the new Chapter I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

" _I want you to understand something. If you should lose, not only does your future end, but also the future of the one you are trying to protect. Defeat isn't an option for the sword that protects others. You should keep that thought engraved in your heart._ " -Kenshin Himura, Rurouni Kenshin

* * *

A girl stood outside a stores window looking emptily at her reflection. "This is terrible" she said in a soft voice. "I can't go home like this" she stated referring to something that had just happened to her without revealing what it was. She was a girl in her late teens with a very dark shade of violet for her hair colour. She wore a school uniform similar to a sailors uniform. Regardless she was at the most in her final year of high school meaning that this may have been a teens everyday problem, however her character meant that it had to be different.

A dark broad chested figure loomed over her looking intimidating if that was his intention. "Do you want me to remove the pain you feel?" the man asked in a deep and rather intimidating voice, however it seemed that his motives were genuine or the means at the very least. Without waiting for a response he put his palm on the violet haired girls back and a faint glow was seen as the large tall man before her likely fixed what and observer could suspect was the girls spine. "There" he said moving away from the girl giving her space "it is done."

The girl looked up at the man before her and regarded him. He was man who appeared to be in his mid forties yet the look in his eyes said that he was far older. Whatever reason he had for helping her it was not for her sake. "What are you?" the girl asked the man hesitantly.

The man on his part answered not skipping a beat. "A magus" he informed the girl informing her of his pat in the moonlit world, that she was already partially aware of. "Souren Araya" he stated revealing his name to the violet haired girl before him, before he walked away.

* * *

 _Several Weeks Later_

Mal opened his eyes from where he had been lying. Once again he had sensed it, this Magus who had been active for years within this city had made a move again, this time he had chosen to use his thaumaturgy on for some reason or another. " _He's making a move again_ " the pre teen noted as he hopped off his perch on the building Garan no Dou was located. " _I wonder if Aozaki is aware of his recent activities?_ " Mal internally mused. It would be rather unlike Touko not to realise it, but his tutor did have other thing vying for her attention for now Mal had sensed that several day ago but the fact that Touko was not aware of this Magus's movements was what caused him concern. There must be a reason that only he was able to sense this Magus, that or this unknown was very good at covering his tracks, it was possible.

The red haired boy was not sure what Touko hoped to achieve by having Shiki run errands for her, she did on occasion make him run them every now and again. Deciding to use the far less conventional means of leaving and he hopped off Garan nou Dou's roof onto one of the side streets. The amount of rain that Mifune City had did not bother him, he never caught a cold due to it. Mal was unsure of why exactly but he made a note to further look into this later date in the near future. It was then that the boy noticed that something was amiss.

Kneeling on the ground in the rain, in what seemed to be a school uniform was a girl with violet haired. It seemed she was clutching her stomach as if she was in pain. While Mal's nature would have had him simply ignore the girl or pass her by, the red head remembered how Kiritsugu had saved and helped him when the legendary Magus Killer had no real need to. That and Mal despite the ffact that he knew he would never be able to truly smile like the old man had when he had saved Mal those few years ago, would still try though it was more so that he could see the other person smile. Mal had already come to a revelation that inflicting pain on others did give him some small type of joy, but he had only explored this when helping another by deterring others from harming them, though he usual had to hold back.

Walking up to her Mal was unsure of how he should ask her what was wrong. While her was good at acting the boy felt that he should at least attempt to be genuine when helping others, getting nothing out of helping them didn't concern him in the least, Mal did it because he could. "Oneesan?" he spoke trying to sound polit while he was abe to be able to sound concerned "are you hurt?" Mal asked the girl. "Is your stomach causing you problems? Do you need to see a doctor?" While Mal found several of these foolish they were things a child his age would ask at the very least, though the red head had managed to avoid asking the question 'are you alright' MA had found that it was obvious that they weren't so he had seen no reason to ask it, despite Touko's insistence that he should ask it for the sake of formality.

Turning around looking very much surprised the girl revealed that she had a dark red hue for her eye colour. "No" she denied pausing due to lack of words to say to Mal "I" she began but was unsure of how she should continue, most given her situation would have been also.

"Neesan, do you want me to walk you home?" Mal offerred. Most people would scoff and asked what a child his age could do to protect or help someone older than them, it was supposed to be the other way around after all, but it seemed that this girl did not share that belief.

"Yes, but I don't want to come home" she stated causing Mal to raise an eyebrow. "Not in this state" the teen explained to Mal as she glanced at her stomach and then at her hands in a rather sad and empty fashion, a sentiment that the red haired boy before her could share.

Mal noticed that it may have not been her stomach that the girl was looking at. If she were male it couldn't have been anything else but Mal had also learned through Touko, though she had done so only for him to have a better understanding of human anatomy as a whole where the organs in the human body were. And where she had glanced to was not really her stomach but most likely her womb. This girl had been raped and Mals blood boiled at the thought, his anger shimmering almost to the surface with the rain for a moment steaming on him. Fortunately the girl did not notice so that was a small blessing he could be grateful for, but there was the problem of where he could take her. Touko would ask to many questions if he took her back to Garan no Dou and Shiki would ask him why he brought this girl to her apartment. That only left Mikiya Kokutou, actually Mal considered Shiki's friend to be rather reliable as he had told Ma that if he needed any help he could come to him and it was in Mikiya's nature to help other people who where in need. So Mikiya's place it was then.

Walking up to the girl and reaching out his hand towards her Mal spoke "If Oneesan doesn't want to go home for the moment perhaps she can rest at a friends place" he suggested. "I could take you there if you like" Mal offered to which the girl nodded and took his hand. Mal noted that her grip was not hard but was firm enough that he didn't need to grasp it hard to lift her up, she also seemed surprised when Mal managed to haul her to her feet. "I am everyone calls me Mal" he introduced himself. "but my family name is Emiya" he informed her.

The high school girl looked Mal up and down before replying "Fujino Asagami" she spoke the two words slowly. "my name is Fujino, Fujino Asagami" she stated in case Mal had not caught it the first time. She didn't know it but he had indeed heard her name the first time.

Mal had noticed that Fujino as she had named herself had yet to let go of his hand. "Come" the by said as he lead her away returning the grip as it seemed that she may have been holding onto his hand for his sake and not hers "It's this way" Mal said as they began to walk

* * *

By the time they had reached the street that Mikiya's resided on the sun had fully set. Mal had noticed that there were few people out at this hour or in this neighbourhood, he made sure to ask Mikiya about it later if the young man had any insight he could share with the red haired boy. Mal had also been aware the girl he was with Fujino had not been looking up during this time letting herself be led by the boy and taking far more interest in the ground where she walked. "Does it hurt?" Mal asked her knowing that it did but asked her anyway.

"No" Fujino replied softly clenching her case or whatever it was to her stomach. It was clear to even a child that she was lying, Mal himself she could not deceive as he was no ordinary child, if he could be considered as a child at all that is. After several more steps Fujino finally spoke again "Yes" she admitted "yes it really, really hurts" she informed Mal in her soft but not truly meek manner. Coming to a halt Mal looked at Fujino seeing her eyes were closed in pain or perhaps contemplation. IT was then that she started to treble slightly as if her body was fighting itself. "I'm about to cry" Fujino stated softly as she trembled struggling against the tears. She opened her red eyes to look at Mal's ember ones "can I cry?" she asked with a rather tired look on her face. If she had been raped then it was rather reasonable.

Mal was almost caught off guard by Fujino admitting this to him, then again he really didn't know how to deal with something like this. Mal nodded and opted to put on a cheery face "yeah Neesan" he said to Fujino "it's very much alright to cry if you want to" Mal stated trying to be supportive of her. Right now he knew the best he could do was provide Fujino with a shoulder to lean on, even if she had to bend down really low in the literal sense to lean on his shoulder. But Mal knew she needed emotional support not physical in this case.

Fujino looked at him and gave a smile as she breathed in happily before she let it out. Perhaps she smiled because Mal was not going to judge her on the fact that she was crying or perhaps there was another reason that she gave him a sincere but tired smile before she began.

After she had finished crying which was several minute later they resumed walking to Mikiya's apartment. Mal noticed that Fujino's grip on his hand was more firm now but also a bit gentle as if she had been freed of part of the burden that she had been carrying until then. Mal also noted the fact that it was part and not the whole meaning that she had problems that needed to be dealt with still, while he was not the best to help with emotional problems Mal was a good listener and at times that is what people needed, hopefully he could be that.

Still there was something that kept Mal fixated about her even as she had been weeping in the rain. It was finally when they had reached Mikiya's apartment that Mal finally had connected why he could smell an odour similar to death coming from Fujino. She had killed recently, in Mals rather complex contraption of a mind it made perfect sense, Fujino had been attached and Raped and had managed to kill at least one of her tormentors, that or they killed each other, it would explain her emotional state, now the real question was if he should continue taking her to Mikiya or take her back to Garan no Dou for Touko to address the situation, or perhaps he should end her here as an act of mercy. Mal shook his head, it didn't matter she was in need of help and he could provide her with some that took priority, for now.

Mikiya as Mal had predicted he been rather sympathetic about the whole thing letting Fujino stay the night at his place and thanking Mal for helping her, though the red haired boy was unsure why Mikiya was the one thanking him, then again people were a bit unique in their own way. It was when Fujino had left to have a shower that Mal finally decided to leave, after parting with Mikiya the red haired boy gave a slight warning to keep an eye on her, Mikiya summed it down to Mal being himself and being worried about Fujino, in general.

As the pre teen walked away he made a note to come and check up on the two later in the night, no doubt news of the missing people would be found in the morning if it ha not already been discovered by the local authorities. This left Mal musing how it would turn out. He knew that Touko would have some words to say to him about this as a whole and staying away at night without informing her. While Mal was confident that he could take care of himself he also was aware that Touko was just being careful as something was bound to happen.

Mal flooded his circuits with prana as he whispered two words "Trace On" as Mikiya's room key was formed in his hand. Inspecting the object Mal was satisfied that he had made an accurate replica of the young man's keys, there was the process it would not work after all.

* * *

Fujino opened her eyes and found that she was in an unfamiliar room. At first she wondered why she was lying on a sofa with sheets over her but then she recalled what had happened in the evening. She was now at Mikiya Kokutou's apartment where she had been taken by a mysterious boy named Mal after what had occurred to her previously in the evening and earlier in the afternoon. Getting up she carefully folded the sheet Mikiya had put over her while she slept and put them next to the sofa. Her host himself was soundly asleep on the futon.

As Fujino finished putting on her uniform and folding the clothes Mikiya had loaned to her for the night she heard a familiar voice speak to her. "You are welcome to stay for breakfast, he is very generous that way, though in my opinion Mikiya can be a bit too generous."

The violet haired girl spun around tensed up she was surprised but relaxed as even in the gloom she recognised Mal who was simply standing there with his back resting one of the wall, the gloom made it seem as if his expression was unreadable -as a point of interest actually it was-. "Mal" Fujino began "what are you doing up so late?" she asked. Of all the things she could have asked it would have to be in relation to Mal's age. This though only amused him but Fujino was unaware of that "a child you age needs there else" she explained to him.

Mal on his part gave a shrug of his shoulders "I was concerned Neesan" he confessed. "You have been hurt terribly and I wanted to see if I could help" Mal was being honest here though he also knew at the same time he wasn't. "I also wanted to see if you were okay." What the red haired boy was not telling her was that he had come to see if she was going harm Mikiya by accident or design. Whether he would let it play out as it may have been intended was up for debate at this moment. But for the time being Fujino was not a mindless killer.

"You" Fujino began "your concern is rather touching" the violet haired girl managed a weary but genuine smile gracing her lips. "I am glad that you were the one who found me" Fujino said as she got up and carefully walked out of the house Mal leading the way for her.

"Contact me if things goes wrong" Mal said giving Fujino Touko's business card "when you call ask for me, the owner there will know what to do" the red haired boy explained. Closing the door he said "I'll tell Mikiya about to night so there is no reason for you to worry."

Fujino nodded as she looked out at Mifune City before she heard the door close. Deciding to also thank Mal for helping her and being concerned about her well being she turned around. Only to find that the door was closed and that Mal was nowhere in her line of sight. Now Fujino was sure that Mal had been on the outside when he had closed the door, so why had he disappeared? This is what she asked herself before she got ready putting her shoes on and leaving quickly so that no one would notice her departure, in this she did succeed partially. MAl had noticed her departure but he had been watching her the whole time

* * *

Touko watched the TV as the person on it spoke " _the scene of the crime is a bar that has been abandoned for a year and a half_ " the News reporter informed those watching." _The victims were witnessed going to and from this place frequently. The Limbs of corpses were torn off by someone, and the police are investigating the method of the murders along with the whereabouts of the killer._ " With that the TV was switched off by Touko who had only turned it on as a passing fancy, the fact that there were murders gong on had not been her mind.

Touko briefly wondered where Mal had gone last night, briefly the 'Red' entertained the thought of him being infatuated with the girl he had helped, but quickly crushed that thought as she knew better. Mal was capable of many things, but she did not know if love was one of them herself. Seeing that Mikiya had just arrived she decided to break another form of news to him but was still important. "Oh Mikiya I have something to tell you" she began "I'm afraid due to some recent problems that you will have to wait until next month for your pay."

"What?" Mikiya looked shocked as he received this news "What do you mean, wait until next month for my pay?" he asked. It was obvious from his reaction that Mikiya was rather tight on cash for the moment meaning that this would make it rather difficult for him to live.

"Even if I wanted to pay you, I don't have the money" Touko replied hinting at the fact that she did not desire to pay the young man for his services and simply wanted him to continue his work at Garan no Dou free of cost. Shiki sat motionless to the side listening to this.

"No way" Mikiya replied not convinced her "you had over 10, 120, 000 yen moved to your bank account only just yesterday" he said to the 'Red'. "What on earth did you spend it on?" the young man asked rather scared of the prospect of this whole situation and other things.

"You added an extra zero" Touko corrected a bit amused and unamused at the same time with him, that still didn't make it any better. Mal could always trace her money or valuables to sell but she didn't want the boy to be discovered this soon. Something about having to take care of a future Sealing Designate had for some reason turned on Touko's previously unused and thought to be non existent maternal instinct, that or the boy was growing on her. Not that was anything new. Seeing that she should answer Touko bent down and lifted something from underneath her desk "Well since you asked" she began as Mikiya then saw it "Its an Ouija board from the Victorian era" she explained knowing that Mikiya had no appreciation of such things nor would he at this point in his life. "I'm not expecting much out of it" she admitted. "But since it is over a hundred years old it might not be entirely worthless" Mikiya could not understand it but a Magus could, a pity Mal was not here at the moment or was out of sight as he liked to be, he had a habit of doing both much to Touko's dismay at times.

"No, matter how trivial it may seem, it has traces of magical energy and a long history." Touko realised that Mikiya did not care about explanations and that she was ranting a bit "I just so happened to see it on sale so I bought it on impulse" she informed him in a rather casual manner. "There is no need to get so mad" she informed Mikiya "I am broke now too." She' said this as if it made all the difference, in her mind it may have but in the rest of the world it most certainly did not, fortunately there was someone who could do something about it.

"If you are having problems financially I can help with that" Mal's voice broke into the conversation as he walked out of from the corner he had been standing it, once again catching everyone off guard due to the fact that each of them had looked at the spot and not seen him.

"Ah" Touko said being the first to recover besides Shiki who only turned her attention to Mal but gave no other form of action. "It seems that those side projects of yours are paying off" Touko noted. "I hope you are making a _killing_ out there, with what you have" she stated. Both Shiki and Mikiya noted the way Touko had said the word _killing_ and then Shiki was only able to realise partially what Touko meant when she had said that. "So can you get the transfers done or do you have some in cash?" the 'Red' asked her surrogate son with interest.

"I have some of the money on a false account however you will have to exchange it from American" Mal replied. "I have quite a bit of yen stored in Cash if you really want as I have no real use for it at the moment, but please try not to spend it on impulses" he requested.

Mikiya then followed Mal to where he had stored the money he had obtained leaving Shiki and Touko alone together in the room. Once a little time had passed the red head let out a sigh of relief "I have to thank some sort of higher power that I have Mal with me" she said.

"Touko" Shiki spoke in her reserved and cold manner "continue with it" she asked or more akin to demanded. Unknown to Shiki Mal was listening in on what they were saying via the familiars he had made to patrol this place. Touko was fully aware of this and didn't mind.

Touko who had been about to put a cigarette in her mouth stopped. "I didn't want to accept this kind of job" she explained "but I brought it up because I needed the money, I can't really take all that from Mal" the 'Red' stated. "Well about last night "she began but was cut off.

"You don't have to talk about it any more" Shiki informed her as she stood up. "I get it for the most part" the Mystic Eyes of Death perception explained as she walked forwards towards the Magus who she had seen excell in ignition magic. Her usual frown was in place.

"Oh?" Touko began interested and rather amused with this "I have only told you about the scene of the crime" she said to Shiki. "You catch on quickly, don't you?" Touko asked rhetorically with a knowing smirk on her face. By this time she had lit the cigarette and was now in the process of smoking it, her ash tray was choked with more ash and cigarette butts. "The client has an idea of who the killer is. Your job is to secure her if possible" the 'Red; explained. "But if she shows any signs of fighting back you are to kill her without hesitation." Touko instructed "What do you think?" she asked the wielder of the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception. "I think it's the perfect job for you" the 'Red' stated rather amused with this whole situation. Before Shiki could respond Touko added "Mal met and helped the killer last night" Touko began "when he met her he began to suspect that she had been raped in the last few hours" she had no idea why she was telling Shiki this other than the fact that Mal had been the one to discover it. "He also said that she had the smell of death clinging to her."

"Your son is strange" Shiki replied not realising the irony in what she had just said, nor the hypocrisy. "As for your question there is no need to answer that" the young woman said to Touko as she began to walk away from her to the door that let to the outside of the building.

"Your impatient aren't you Shiki?" Touko stated more than asked "Are you that hungry?" the 'Red' asked now with quite the cruel grin on her face. Standing up she handed Shiki a yellow envelope "Here, this is her photo and info" Touko said this and then threw it to her.

"I don't need it" Shiki replied not even bothering to look at the place where it had landed. "She is my kind" Shiki explained. "We'll definitely try to kill each other the moment we meet" Shiki stated with absolute surety as she resumed her walk the door that lead to the outside.

* * *

Mal had heard everything that had transpired and found himself torn between different courses of actions. This was not uncommon for him but on this level it was. On one hand Mal had Shiki who was about as friendly with his as she could get and whom he was as friendly as he could get. On another was the girl Fujino Asagami whom he had helped the previous night and who he knew was the killer that Shiki was going to face.

If She really had the ability to alter what she saw like Touko suspected she did then Shiki was in trouble. Either way Mal did not desire for Shiki to die nor did he wish for the life he had helped and sought to save be lost. So in truth Mal realised much to his chagrin that there was only on real course of action for him to take, no matter how much it grated on the boys nerves and pride.

Standing up after Mikiya had left Mal stepped back into the shadows and disappeared, perhaps he would need to actually find Fujino first after all, though he suspected that Shiki and her would not fight while there are others around, something that he did not share that trait with either of them.

* * *

 **So yeah as I said at the beginning of the Chapter the scenes were taking too long and I was adamant that none of the should be skipped so yeah unfortunately I left you with some lame kind of cliff hangar sorry about that as I feel I should have made this longer but at the same time I know that I will not be able to do it without this chapter ending up as too long. SO yeah my heartfelt apologies about that.**

 **As with the dilemma Mal is facing, please note that he is not Shirou, Mal is only having this dilemma because it was Fujino who he had helped out the previous night. As written in the actual paragraph above Mal doesn't want the life of the one he helped to be lost, so essentially he is trying to do the right thing for the wrong or seemingly wrong reasons. In my personal opinion Malekith would not like to waste something he had worked for at the drop of a hat, at least not before he was the witch king and especially not after. Neither would Nagash allow something he had worked for to be in vain, such a thing was inconceivable for the Great Necromancer at least according to Arkhan that was, but what would the Liche know he only served him wince the age of Sigmar or even before or something along those lines.**

 **Anyway I am looking forward to the next chapter, hopefully it will have more content in it but I won't get my hopes up too high.**

 **If any of you have any feedback that you would like to share or any ideas please feel free leave a review or PM me, though I would prefer it if you left a review as I have found that it is easier to reference and sort that way when writing the next chapter. Also telling me I need a Beta is not considered feedback I know it I just need the one I have to respond and not be busy in real life that I can't send him anything.**

 **Anyways thanks for reading this Chapter also I will be putting a poll on whether Fujino should die or not so pleas e check my profile for it, it will have a major impact later on if not immediately.**

 **Also as a note of interest please note that I am only Seven minutes into Remaining Sense of Pain, that is seven minutes out of over fifty seven. Do this might take a while.**


	9. Chapter 08: Remaining Sense of Pain 02

**So yeah I managed to get an update, truth be told I had to wait a bit as I couldn't see any of the reviews due to some malfunction of this site's server nor was I able to receive PM's therefore I was unable to take in the feedback that was given to me until about Wednesday. So I got to work then, also a big thank you to LtdFox for your review I considered it very inspiring and motivated me to write this Chapter. Though it is a Short Chapter I decided to end it when I did as Remaining Sense of Pain is longer than Hollow Shrine os I believed that IS houldn't try and squeeze it the same amount of words anyway here is the new Chapter Remaining Snese of Pain Part 2 I hope you enjoy**

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" _Humans can possibly exist without actually having to fight. But, many of us have chosen to fight. For what reason? To protect something? Protect what? Ourselves? The future? If we kill people to protect ourselves and this future, then what sort of future is it, and what will we have become? There is no future for those who have died. And what of those who did the killing? Is happiness to be found in a future that is grasped with blood stained hands? Is that the truth?_ "

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A youth in the late years of his second decade fell down on his back in the gloom. He was making noises as if he was being strangled and it appeared that the youth was in no small amount of pain. Above him stood a girl most of her features were hidden by the dimly lit area they were in however it was clear that she was wearing a blue and white school uniform, her hands where held together like as if she was praying. Advancing on the stricken youth she asked "Would you happen to know where Keita san might be?" the way that this was asked in soft and gentle manner would one assume that she was not responsible for the youth's condition. That was if it were not for the fact that as a whole the girl was unaffected by the suffering which was happening right in front of her. More importantly she didn't care for it.

As a train came past and bits of the place were lit up for showing a clearer picture of the scene. In the dark once could have assumed that the youth had simply fallen over, however as the light revealed it was impossible for the youth to actually stand up. Such things were next to impossible if one was no longer in possession of their legs which were lying several feet away from him as were his arms. Both looked as if they had been neatly sliced off him cleanly though there was blood on the pavement where the youth was bleeding out, what was more important was that there was no trace of any object in sight even that was capable of even remotely cutting his limbs this cleanly. "I need to see Keita san no matter what" the girl said as she placed her hands in her head. The youth's cries heightened but then died down, it was clear that he was dead and that she was the source of his suffering, no matter how brief it was. "Otherwise I" the girl left that unsaid as she walked away slowly in the dim light it revealed that her hair was purple in colour, she did not expect for a voice to speak to her.

"What will you do Asagami san?" a voice asked causing the girl to spin around, the voice itself held not traces of judgement of only mild interest, as if the owner of it was not remotely bothered by the scene he had no doubt just seen, the voice came from all sides around her.

Suddenly afraid with what she couldn't see Fujino took a step back, in the direction of the corpse of her latest victim. "Who are you?" she asked or demanded looking around her trying to pinpoint where this new person could possible be hiding if he was hiding at all that is.

"I have already introduced myself to you once" the voice stated in a casual but polite manner as if they were talking to someone older than them. "There is no need to repeat myself" clearly it seemed that the owner of this voice had a high opinion of themselves, high was even remotely scratching the surface in regards to that. "That and I am here only to tell you to take a slightly more careful approach to your activities" it counselled. "I prefer not having the effort no matter how small it is been done it vain." the voice informed the girl gently.

With that Fujino didn't hear whoever was the owner of the voice speak again so she quickly hurried away from her victim the words that had been said to her repeating over and over in her head. Particularly the last part what had that person meant when they had said that.

After Fujino had made her hasty retreat Emiya Mal walked out from the shadow he had been standing in. The pre teen looked down at the corpse with little to no emotion in his eyes, as if he was looking at a piece of furniture and not at was once a living human being. "She is killing people who are known to her tormentors" the red haired boy noticed. "I wonder how she planned to get an answer from the corpse" Mal mused "she should have removed a hand or a few fingers to loosen his lips rather than just removing his limbs and then killing him." the boy stroked his chin in contemplation weighing his options at this point "he has not been dead long so I do have a chance at reviving, the problem will be his memories and erasing or altering them, not to mention Fujino will be suspicious for sure if he is alive."

Mal looked at the corpse with pitiless amber eyes before the red haired boy sighed. "Kiritsugu could have just simply left me where he found me and called for help, yet in his own foolishness he when out of his way to help and save a child he didn't even know." After saying this Mal walked up to the corpse and brought it limbs together placing each in the correct position. "It may be no third magic but reanimation is enough to deal with this" Mal stated. Concentrating Mal forced the youth's blood cells to clot and his heart to start beating again.

At first the youth's body convulsed as it's soul was forced to remain in it's mortal coil, violently fighting this change. Mouth open in a silent scream the youth finally couched up blood as he took in a breath of air, in a sense it was his second first breathe, nothing too dramatic.

Mal finished his work as the chest began to rise and fall without his aid. It seemed that the violent fit of coughing had woken the youth up Mal stared him in the eyes transfixing the object of his attention. "Make no mistake" the red haired boy began "what you saw before was very real" he assured the youth you looked on the verge of panicking, a feat he only achieved because Mal's presence made him think twice about angering the strange red haired boy with bright amber eyes before him. "You did die and the one who killed was none other than your _friend_ _'_ _s_ victim Fujino Asagami" Mal explained. "As to how you are alive, I am the answer to that question." Mal now leaned closer to the teen so that they were face to face before he continued "everything about you I own, so from here on out you live to do what I say."

* * *

Fujino Asagami sat in a cafe with her friend Azaka Kokutou who also was a student at Reien Girl's Academy. Both of them had only just come after school so they were both in the uniform. "I guess that sarcasm drenched policemen really does not like students going out at night" Azaka stated with a sigh as she took a sip of the drink she was having and then put the up dawn. "So I told her 'if other kids started going out at night like Fujino and me, who have the best grades, they might just start getting better grades" she gossiped to her friend.

On her part Fujino just slowly sipped her drink from the cup she was holding before placing it back down on the saucer. She had an empty look in her eyes as she half listened to Azaka as her thoughts drifted to different places, like how she had killed those people last night.

"Fujino" Azaka addressed her snapping her out of the dark thoughts. "Are you nervous?" Azaka asked Fujino, seeing her friend's reaction she giggled at little "you don't have to worry" she said to Fujino with a kind smile. "My brother is not like most of those who are his age or older for that matter" she said "Mikiya is like the personification of the word harmless" Azaka informed her friend. No one heard it but the door to the cafe opened as Azaka was talking. The bell on the did not even ring so no one knew the door had opened. Azaka did not notice this and continued on, her voice being rather eager in this case most probably because the subject was her brother. "But he's always been good at searching for people, so there I'm sure he'll find that sempai that you admire" Azaka smiled at her friend as she said this.

"Azaka Kotutou" a voice that was surprisingly familiar to both of the girls called out to them. Fujino was rather surprised to see the polite and kind boy who had helped her out only two nights ago standing there with a blank and mature expression on his young and pure face.

"Mal Emiya" Azaka said with a rather sad look on her face "how many times have I asked for you to call me Oneesan?" she asked. No doubt that since Mal had come here it meant that her brother was unable to come for some reason or another, that or Shiki was responsible.

"Isn't it not appropriate for in public" Mal replied. "people could use it cruelly and rumours about you could start circulating" the boy stated. "If that happens won't your reputation go down as a result, and won't you grades suffer as a result of the way you will be treated?"

Azaka pouted at Mal, while the boy seemed to come up with some ridiculous theories about why he shouldn't do something or the other. The worst part about it was that if you thought about what he said, it began to make more and more sense. That was rather hard to stand for Azaka so she tried not to think on what Mal said too hard. "Did Shiki have anything to do with it?" she asked in truth Azaka was hoping that the dangerous woman who was friends with her brother had so she had another reason to hate Shiki for her closeness to Mikiya.

Mal shook his head though Azaka wasn't convinced, Mal and Shiki also seemed close so the boy could be covering up for her. "He just realised one of his kouhai's from when he was in went missing last night and several of his friends are worried that he has gotten himself into something dangerous, so they are looking for him." Mal explained already knowing exactly why said person was hiding and who he was hiding from, in truth Mal wanted to see the teen die for what he had taken part in and he wanted Fujino to be the one to kill him.

Fujino looked at Mal intently but found that she couldn't read the boy and sighed "Mal can you tell Mikiya to cut all ties with _that_ woman?" she asked sadly as it seemed that she still suspected that Shiki had a hand in this that or she just disliked her, Mal didn't really care.

"Okay, I'll tell hi that, but there is no guarantee that he will listen" Mal replied, he smiled in a kind and cheerful manner to Fujino and Azaka as he turned around and began to walk away. "Also" the red haired boy said as he left so only the two of them would hear what he had to say "and that is the reason why I am hesitant to call you what you asked, Oneesan" Mal said as he walked out from the door this time the bell ringing to signal that the door had been in fact opened by someone though people were confused as to why someone was exiting.

Azaka who knew exactly what Mal had been teasing her about shook with barely contained fury at what he had just said to the two of them. "The nerve" Azaka said as she looked the table before the girl finally managed to calm herself. "I tend to forget how mischievous Mal can really be" she said to Fujino who nodded with a polite and somewhat tired smile on her face. "I'm really sorry about this" Azaka apologised "Mal is also good at searching for people but we can't just ask a kid" she explained. "I'll talk to my brother about this" she stated.

Fujino stirred her tea "Mal is truly a kind person at heart" she said reflecting on what she knew of to amber eyed boy. "He helps people even if he doesn't know them dimply because it is the right thing to do, I can't help but feel jealous of anyone who has him for a Otouto."

"Oh" Azaka gasped "I had no idea you two were acquainted" she said "I am sorry for sending him away as I thought that you might not like having a stranger here with us" she explained. "I should go call him back then, is if that is something that you want" Azaka offered.

"No" Fujino shook her head "It's alright, he most likely has other things to do" she summarised "A boy who has no friends his age to play with needs something to do, even if it is errands it will keep him out of mischief" she stated with Azaka nodding her head in agreement.

* * *

At the docks there was a scream of a grown man, while most would consider it inappropriate for a grown man to be screaming at any time much less this late an hour in the night, if people were aware of the condition of this man, they would not bee so quick to judge him. In fact they would be questioning their own sanity at this moment with the scene that was unfolding at the docks. In fact there was no actual rational explanation to the common eye for what was transpiring in the docks and the owner of the voice knew this a little too well.

Standing in front of him one hand hanging loose to the side her left holding her stomach Fujino Asagami stared at the man with no traces of emotion on her face that was shadowed by the lights overhead. The man's body began to twist as his other arm also twisted in a burst of blood spraying it all over the cement. "Please" Fujino began, the girls voice sounded as if she was begging the man even though she was the on in the position of power in this instance. "Tell me where Keita san is" Fujino requested though her victim couldn't answer her.

Turning around arms flailing widly the man attempted to run but fell over hitting his head hard against the smooth concrete. There was the sound of bones crunching and he cried out in an immense amount of pain as one of his legs began to twist unnaturally. What was worse was that Fujino's victim was well aware of this "my leg" he began looking at the useless and limp leg. "It's twisted" he stated in disbelief denying what was happening to him. Laughing a little in denial he asked "what's wrong with my leg?" his smile was wide and it showed that the man was terrified and had no idea how any of this was possible. "My leg is twisted like a screw" Fujino's victim said as his own blood began to pool around him, soon he would bleed out, but it was unsure if his tormentor knew that or not, or if she cared for it at all.

Stepping forward Fujino walked onto the blood stained pavement uncaring of the blood "bend" she said in a quiet voice. In response to this the man's last leg twisted up and then twisted even further. Soon the rest of his body followed all of it twisted as the man laughed like a lunatic. "I'm sorry" Fujino stated as she cupped her head in her hands as her victim still alive twisted "but I have to do this" she explained, there was a spurt of blood and the mains laughter and groans stopped "Only doing this can I finally be like everyone else" she stated. Looking at the corpse as she lowered her hands Fujino's red eyes glowed in an unnatural fashion, red like the colour of the blood she stood in. "In truth I don't wish to kill people" the girl explained in a sad and frightened voice as she regarded the corpse of her latest victim.

"That's not true" another voice stated, it was deeper than hhers and had a more mature edge it also held an amused tone, as if the owner was highly amused by what he or she saw. Also there was eagerness to the voice as if it's owner were excited for some reason or another. Fujino gasped as she looked at the owner of the voice who was walking up to her. "Fujino Asagami" the woman said as she waked through the shadow of one of the shipping containers kept there. "I see, you were related to the Asakami" the woman stated. As she stepped into the light she was revealed as a brown haired woman in her leate teens to early twenties with blue eyes, she wore a grey Yukita. However what stood out the most was the predatory like smile that graced the woman's lips. As if she was looking at something akin to her prey.

"Who are you?" Fujino began scared of this new person her emotions that she didn't normally feel going out of control due to just only being in this persons presence "Since when have you been there?" she asked needing to know how much of her actions this girl had seen.

"Since the time you lured the piece of meat out her, I've been here" the woman answered still smiling in her deadly manner as she advanced, not halting as she answered the girl's questions. In short she struck quite the intimidating figure to the one she was speaking to that is.

"Please do not say 'piece of meat'" Fujino pleaded scared of this woman and how easily and casually she held no regard for the human whom Fujino had just killed, denying the fact that they were even human to begin with. "He is human" the Fujino said to the woman.

The woman advancing on her knew that the girl before her was the last person to say something like this given what she had just done so she said "hey now, humans don't die like that" the casual way she said this only served to frighten Fujino further. "A person who didn't end his or her like like a human can no longer considered human" the woman explained as she too stepped into the blood of the 'meat' that had flowed across the flat surface of the cement. "A person removed from the boundary line is deprived of all of their meaning" she added "As such something like common sense is not able to deal with things like that corpse" here the woman paused in her speech waiting for Fujino to listen to her "or someone like you" she said still smiling in her scary manner as she finally stopped several feet away.

"No" Fujino denied almost a little too violently "I'm normal" she stated though the girls voice was hesitant as if she had trouble in believing that herself. "I'm not like you" she said again still the both parties did not seem to believe this but only one was honest about it.

The woman laughed as she resumed walking up to Fujino, it seemed she was highly amused with what had just been said "We are birds of a feather" the woman lolling her head to the side before in a quick motion getting it back into place. "Fujino Asagami" she explained.

With this the woman's eyes began to glow eerily, with a red ring just around the pupil.. Frowning at the woman Fujino spoke "Don't be ridiculous" she stated as eye own eyes took on an unnerving glow as well seeing this the woman got into a position waiting to move.

Both of them blinked in surprised as they sensed something in the area around them, Fujino's eyes were no longer glowing. "What is going on with you?" The other girl asked Fujino it was clear that she was upset and irritated at this. Seeing that she was getting on response from the girl, the woman turned around in an upset manner and began to walk away.. "That's it, what a turn off" she stated as she walked away. "It's worthless to kill you now" the woman informed her. "Hurry up and go home, that way we won't ever see each other again." As the woman left she looked at the top of one of the shipping containers narrowing her eyes she said "So he was here the whole time, I guess that is what Touko meant when she informed me that the boy could be involved" this part Fujino did not hear as she was too far away.

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After the woman had left Fujino looked at the place where the woman had been staring but found nothing there. "When I was small I once cut my hand while playing house" she said to herself more than to anyone who could have been possibly present at this time. "There was a real blade mixed up with the utensils" she stated recalling how she had been cutting things oblivious to the blood that ha been spilled everywhere. Fujino remembered how her mother had called out to her asking if she was in pain and talking about cleaning the mess up.

"I didn't understand her words" Fujino said as the image of her mother lifting her up and holding her cut hand was in her mind "but I was so happy she embraced me" the girl explained. Her mother had wrapped her hand up in a bandage after she had cleaned up the blood and after the child had stopped crying. "I didn't understand what her words mean" Fujino said to herself "because not even once did I feel any pain" she stated. Fujino now looked up and was about to depart when another voice called out to her this one the girl knew from before.

"How tragic" the voice from the previous night stated. "Not to know how to feel pain yet experiencing it, such a sad existence, it must be close to being unbearable for you" the person from the previous night was here, then that woman from before must have been referring to him when she had left. "You are a creature that I can truly pity" the voice informed her, there were no traces of scorn or mockery in it's voice only assurance that the owner of the voice was correct. "I never thought I would meet any being such as you in this world" it stated.

Fujino took a step back almost falling in the blood and risking getting it onto herself. "Ho are you?" Fujino asked "You were there last night as well, how have you been following me" she asked "Why have you been watching me?" she asked frantic at what she could not see.

"I mean you no harm" the voice informed Fujino "as you have yet given me a reason to desire it." The last part held something of a promise to the girl that she could not quite understand for some reason. "Still I am interested in seeing how you deal with your revenge" it said. Obviously able to see that Fujino was slightly confused at what it had just said the owner of the voice decided to elaborate for her. "You want to kill those who caused you pain" it informed her. "While they did rape you that is not the reason you are going to such lengths to find and kill their remaining member." IT seemed that the this voice's owner was brilliant in the mind to deduce this. "You who had never felt any pain feel it for the first time, it must be like a living hell for you, that is the reason why you seek to kill the one named Keita."

Fujino did not reply for some time but by the time the girl who had taken several more steps backwards to get away from where she perceived the other person or thing to be, they had already left as she realised that no one was talking to her any more. With that Fujino left.

* * *

Mall looked from his perch at Fujino who was on the phone, she seemed to be having a morbid type of enjoyment from talking to the person on the other end "I wonder what she would do if she found out that Mikiya is Azaka's sister?" Mal asked himself idly. "No doubt that the situation would have been changed, most probably Reien Girl's Academy would have been destroyed in the crossfire between those two" Mal said to himself. "Combustion against Distortion, that would be a sight to see" the red haired boy stated as he followed the purple haired girl. "Thought I guess that this is better since those two get to keep their friendship" Mal reasoned "for now that is, who knows what the future has in hold for them." The pre teen then smirked. "I wonder how Shiki and her will face off, I can always revive the loser."

* * *

Mikiya stood in front of Keita, he had spent the better part of the last two days to find his kouhai from hisghschool and it was now late into the morning. He stood with the Keita's phone held out, someone was talking on the other end. Kokutou knew that he had heard this voice very recently, in his own apartment exactly, so he knew who was on the other line despite the distortion that occurs when one makes use of a phone. Given what was being said Mikiya could not blame Keita for refusing to answer his cell phone, it was rather disturbing.

"My stomach really hurts" Fujino Asagami said from her own phone in a rather crazed and yet happy voice, it was not hard to imagine the girl smiling as she said this. "I've finally acquired pain, I'm alive" she stated unknowingly to Mikiya who was the one with the phone.

Keita Minato looked from where he was on the ground a terrified expression on the orange haired youth's face. "What" he managed "what the hell is she saying?" Keita asked as he didn't know the meaning of Fujino's crazed words while hoping that Mikiya did understand it.

"I don't really want to" Fujino continued "but I don't want anyone to know that I am a murderer either" she explained. "So I have to kill you Kieta san" Fujino informed him as Keita was able to understand that part and went into hysterics with Mikiya watching.

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 **So yeah that is it for now, Fujino's and Shiki's fight will most liekly be in the next chapter though I will state that this is only eighteen minutes into the movie so it might take a few more chapters or so. Either way it is fun to write. Anyways I got a tone of things in Real Life coming up so I may slow down in my update speed.**

 **To any of you who need to ask the woman referred to in this chapter as _That Woman_ is Shiki, why she isn't referred to by name is because it was being told from Fujino's side and due to Mal being sent there instead of Shiki she has yet to meet or know Shiki's name.**

 **As for the poll it is closed with Fujino dying being the winner, not to worry Mal reviving her is part of it, however there is tie breaker between it just happening, most likely with the bridge or having Souren Araya kill her. Out of the two I chose one but I'll leave that answer for when I get to it.**

 **Also if you have any ideas you would like to share or any feedback to give please leave a review or a PM me, though I prefer it if it were a review as it is easier for me to reference when I am writing the next chapter. Please note that reviews that just talk about getting a Beta do not count as Ideas or feedback. Also if you want to hate on my fic, get an account as I hate nameless guest reveiwers with nothing remotely constructive to say.**

 **Anyway I hope you enjoyed so until next time.**


	10. Chapter 09: Remaining Sense of Pain 03

**So yeah sorry for being a tad late, but seriously my arch nemesis real life has been throwing everything it has at me, on that note on Wednesday my boss's Ex tried to assault my brother and the police were almost called, seriously wanted to kill the bitch then and there, man it was hard to resist the urge. Anyway enough of that, a big thank you to OverDemon for your feedback and ideas I rather enjoyed reading it so it was not a bore like you feared it would be, I appreciate people who take the time to give that sort of feedback. So here is Remaining Sense of Pain part three I hope you enjoy.**

 **Oh an yeah I didn't realise it but this story went over the 50 thousand word mark, hooray.**

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" _If you look away and just turn your back on those you don't understand, you'll regret it someday. Accept what's happening before your eyes as a fact. That's a shortcut to becoming an adult._ " -Nobuchika Ginoza,(Psycho-Pass)

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"We" Keita stammered to Mikiya "we first did Asagami about half a year ago" he explained. Whether Kokutou was judging him for what he and the had done was not known just yet, still when Keita said the word 'did' he was implying something that was not smiled upon in society. "It was weird" Keita spoke as he recalled the rape "it was like she was acting" this seemed to have confused even Keita as to her behaviour. "All of her reactions were slow" the youth stated, Mikiya himself looked at Kieta the expression on his face was not readable. "She didn't make a face when we threatened her" this did seem out of the ordinary as most girls her age would have broken with what Keita was hinting they did to the girl. "She didn't change when we drugged her" Keita ranted "she just acted like nothing had occurred even when she got punched." It seemed that Kieta had been able to get the image of the way Fujino had behaved quite well to Mikiya. "She looked good, but it wasn't fun to d her." at the end of it all Keita and his friends were just immature children, if they didn't get a reaction it was no fun for them. "I felt like I was fucking a doll" the youth explained "but" he began rather hesitantly "it was different that one time" Keita was most likely referencing the incident that had lead to him hiding here receiving phone calls from Fujino that were death threats.

"It happened recently, one of my friends hit her in the back with a baseball bat" Keita recalled the first time he had seen Asagami react "she was blown away and her face was twisted in pain" he informed Mikiya. "I was actually relieved to see that" Keita was no sweating immensely as he continued "I found out that she also felt pain." Keita dropped his head lower as if in shame "I remember it because she acted like a human that night" he explained. The fact that this was why Keita remembered was rather sickening for Mikiya who was there.

Mikiya who had been listening finally stood up his face set in a stern and cold expression. "You" Mikiya began his voice not it's gentle self "shut up" he ordered, the tone that he used held an edge that he didn't have or more like didn't use, this whole situation was serious.

* * *

Mal who had assigned a familiar watch Mikiya and his activities found that he was almost snarling at what Kokutou did in that room where Keita was. "You idiot" Mal hissed briefly had the thought of simply killing the man. "Now you have just made this whole mess all the more difficult and complex" Mal slowly clenched his hand that shook with his contained rage. Taking some deep breaths the boy was able to calm himself so he did not walk there and kill both Keita as well as Mikiya before reviving Keita and then presenting him like a well wrapped present on the festival called Christmas to Fujino so that she could kill him as many time as she liked. "How the hell can he justify letting filth like that survive" Mal hissed with venom in his voice "kind and foolish beyond what is healthy that is what you are."

As Mal sent a familiar to monitor Fujino as he left to return to Garan no Dou where Shiki and Mikiya were waiting he caught a familiar sent in the air. "So _he_ is making a move as well" the red haired child noted. "should have known that a Magus would be involved in this." Mal found that he was almost excited about this prospect, I wonder if I can do as well as the old man?" the boy asked himself in an almost innocent fashion. "Though the old man probably knew how to deal with this much better than I do, might as well war Touko about it."

* * *

"You're too nice" Touko and Shiki stated to Mikiya sharing a similar opinion to Mal on the matter who just acted disinterested while he stared at the wall. The two of them had responded to Mikiya's reason by simply telling the young man why he had really helped out Keita.

Refusing to meet either of the two's eyes Mikiya sat on the couch facing away from the his gaze cast downwards unsure of himself. "Yeah" he began "I knew you would make fun of me like that any time now" Mikiya informed them is voice soft and sad but not repenting. He was looking at the documents they had on Fujino Asagami with a clear show sadness in his eyes. Mikiya did briefly glance at Mal wanting to know what the boy thought of this whole ordeal but found the red haired boy glaring at the wall for some strange reason or another.

"Protecting Keita after you heard his story, you should be called stupid" Touko said to her employee. It seemed she did not have her glasses on here so she was being her more ruthless and cruel self, then again she had already had known about this whole mess to begin with.

Mikiya thought back to Keita who was in one of the other rooms sleeping on the couch and the restless sleep that the youth was most likely having. "It can't be helped" Mikiya informed her "You know the circumstances." He was right this was an issue Touko could deal with.

"It is indeed a peculiar case" Touko agreed with her employee, though she' did so with a slight sigh in her voice. "But what are you going to do now?" she asked Mikiya referring to how he planned to deal with Fujino if he had any plan with how to placate her to begin with.

"I think the only only thing to do is to go to her and talk" Mikiya suggested, though his answer was half hearted at best, Mikiya himself not sounding convinced that it would work but still willing to try something to help out Keita, though in this case it would not work out.

"You are an idiot" Shiki stated as she walked away from Touko's desk looking out at the city from the window. "That's why you're too nice" she informed Mikiya still looking outside as she spoke to him. "You can't get through to her" Shiki said to him "she's beyond help."

After this Shiki's voice took on a more sinister tone to it as she all but whispered "she won't stop until she accomplishes her goal" the heir of the Ryougi clan explained "N" Shiki stated "I don't know that she will stop even then" She admitted which was quite surprising.

"Shiki" Mikiya addressed her as he spoke "You sound as if you know Fujino Asagami" it was more like he was stating a fact than asking a question but the message was correctly sent across. What Mikiya was really saying was 'how did you meet her, how recently was it?'

"I know her and I've met her" Shiki replied turning around to look him in the eye, though only giving him a sideways glance she she could achieve this. "She was at the docks yesterday looking for Kiet, according to Mal she was with Azaka before that in the afternoon."

"With Azaka" Mikiya whispered thinking back to how his younger sister could be with the one who Keita had talked about. "So she is still going to school?" Mikiya asked not knowing why Shiki or Touko hadn't gone to confront the girl there, or talk to her at the very least.

"No" Touko replied "she hasn't been back to her house or dorm since the night of the incident" Touko stated with a tone that said that this would not change any time soon. "She's been skipping school" the 'Red' informed him. "Azaka said she hasn't seen her after they left."

Sighing the Puppet Master said "they did come to me to find her, after all" this meant that the job was definitely not easy and not just anyone could finish it. "She has completely vanished" Touko informed Mikiya. "Things are going to get rough so you are going to stay here with Keita" Touko instructed. Before Mikiya even had the chance to speak the 'Red' continue "you brought a person who has committed rape into Garan no Dou, now while I am not one to care for such things, Mal has been glaring dagger at where Keita is this entire time."

Seeing that Mal had turned to regard all of them, they noted that his ember eyes were brighter than usual as the look in them showed the contemplation of a killer simply waiting for the correct moment to strike, needless to say all of those present believed that Mal would kill Keita at the very least, though Touko knew that he would bring the youth back, the other two didn't so it was no surprise when Shiki said "I know he is an offence to what you try to stand for but until we have resolved this situation can you please refrain from killing him."

Mals cold gaze fell upon the user of the mystic eyes and Shiki saw death in them, this time she didn't even need to have her death perception up to see that. "fine" Mal stated his voice in a soft but highly dangerous tone meaning that he wasn't making any promises just yet.

"Mal" Touko began "I know you have been monitoring her since you met here a few days ago" she informed him. "You know I am asking where she is, but can you possibly tell us what that girl is planning?" At this all eyes turned to the boy who was not even a teen yet.

Mal had no real reason to help Shiki out with this as he agreed with Fujino about what she had planned for Keita, but some of the thing he had heard through his familiar did give him a reason to be concerned. "She has started to stray" Mal answered leaving it at that for now. Deciding to that they should know something else unrelated to her location but related to her in general he began "Touko most probably knows about it, but the girl is most likely recalling what was done to her every time she holds her side where she believes she was hurt." "Keita was made to confess it before he went to sleep shortly after you bought him here" Mal explained in an emotionless tone. "On that night the leader of the gang attacked her with a knife, it _seems_ that Fujino got stabbed" the boy's amber eyes rested in Mikiya pinning the man to where he was seated "that was the trigger of her revenge." It seemed that Mikiya too recalled what he had see if Fujino when Mal had brought her to his place a few days back. "Just to let you know she has no traces of any stab wounds on her body" Mal added.

Touko sighed as Mal finished his little talk "Mal is right" the 'Red' stated. "From what he reported she had no wounds on her orr that they had completely healed, but on the phone she said her wound still hurt." Touko saw that Mikiya was getting a little uncomfortable as she rounded all the facts they had and arrived to the same answer her pupil did "like Mal said she is probably recalling the pain of being stabbed every time she recalls how she was violated or vice versa. "This is causing her to kill people" Touko explained in a matter of fact way. "Who can say it won't happen when you're talking to her?" Touko asked though it was more rhetoric than anything else, still the Magus did give an almost imperceptible glance to Mal who was the only one to see this before he subtly shook is head as a form of answer to her.

"You're wrong Touko" Shiki corrected the 'Red' knowing that the she had not seen Fujino and did not really know, though the Mystic Eyes of Death perception user did suspect that Mal knew only that the boy had some strange reason to refrain from telling any of this to her earlier. "Mal most probably has seen it too, the pain she is feeling is still in her body" Shiki explained glancing at Mal who simply returned her gaze but with the bares hint of a nod indicating that he did indeed know, even if only to confirm Shiki's suspicions on the subject.

Touko was a tiny bit confused as she replied "but both of you said she didn't have any wounds." Touko reached a hand towards a back of cigarettes "a wound that hurts even after it has completely healed?" the 'Red' asked as she took out a cigarette and placed it in her mouth. Before Touko could lift up a lighter to light it, Mal made a tiny gesture with his fingers and it lit up for Touko. "Show off" the 'Red' murmured at her pupil's insistence that she conserve the gas in her lighter for later. "Is the sense of pain remaining in her body?" she asked.

"Perhaps" Mikiya began "she's insensitive to pain" the young man suggested. Seeing that Touko was waiting for him to explain more it it to her he continued "according to Kieta, Fujino did not react to anything they did to her" the young man stated as he looked Touko in the eyes "If that's true, then it is possible that she has an abnormal sense of pain." Mikiya's idea did have some merit, this from what he had heard from his kouhai it was a logical assumption, the problem was that Touko and Shiki had no heard from Keita, Mal however had.

"Insensitive to pain?" the 'Red' asked not sceptical but wary as this meant that they would be treading on thin ice this was true "If that's the case, was there something that changed her" Touko asked "like getting hit on her back or having lots of steroids pumped into her neck."

Before Mikiya could respond Mal spoke "Keita said he and friends" Mal all but spat the first and last words out with undisguised venom, venom that should not belong to a pree teen much less anything remotely human "that they hit her with a bat, I suspect the damage to her spine is what caused her to feel pain again" Mal stated. "Also I believe from some of the talking she does when she is killing people suggests that it might have something to do with her father who is the contractor, mainly that while she is unfeeling her abilities are sealed."

"So that is" Touko stated before noticing that it was Mal not Mikiya who had answered her "Mal you really have to not make a habit of listening on other people when they think they are in a safe place" the 'Red' informed her pupil while she was secretly impressed with him.

Mal on his part chuckled darkly, the sort of humour that is taken when another is in pain or the irony of a situation comes to light, particularly a tragic or rather painful one. "So that filth's full swing managed to temporarily cure Fujino of her insensitivity to pain." It seemed that only Mal found it truly hilarious, Shiki was impassive, Mikiya was a bit stunned while Touko could appreciate the sentiment but not to level that Mal did. "The pain she felt for the first time is one of the impulses driving her to murder others" the red haired boy stated with absolute certainty in what he had just said. His humour and smile dying even quicker than they had come Mal added in a much more serious tone. "That and the fact that she takes pleasure from being in contact with death" the boy let those words hang in the air for a bit.

Seeing that Kokutou was confused Touko decided to go back to the issue of Fujino and her feeling pain. "Listen having no sensations means that you can't gain anything" the 'Red' explained. "Right, too put it roughly, it is like not having a body" Touko added. "I am sure that it's hard to feel that you are alive, this girl learned of pain" Touko stated "What Mal is trying to say to us is that this is the first time she has experienced anything, so I am sure that she wants even more of it" the Magus's reasoning was solid in a sick and twisted sort of way.

"Her sense of pain is what is causing her to kill" Mal said with finality in a tone that would accept no arguments against what he said, leaving Mikiya standing clenching his fists. "Her sensations are like a switch right now, being turned on and off at a random, she is dangerous" Mal explained before a cruel smile briefly flashed across his face leaving Mikiya dreading what the boy had in store for him. "Did you know that if you had showed up to see your sister yesterday, the result would have been with their academy been destroyed."

Mikiya froze no doubt pondering the results of such a thing occurring and more as to what Mal was getting at by telling him this. "What do you mean, Reien Girls Academy would have been destroyed" the young man asked not wanting Mal to leave him in the dark about it.

"Distortion facing off against combustion, I wonder which of them would win?" Mal asked in an idle manner looking as if he were stating the colour of the sky. "Perhaps Azaka might win but then again she would need to make the first move and be out of Fujino's vision." While it looked like Mal was indifferent about what he was saying the boy was enjoying causing Mikiya this amount of pain and despair, though he was more now just doing it just to calculate the results of such a confrontation and not so much as to cause someone else pain.

"Mal" Shiki reprimanded the boy "focusing on 'what ifs' and causing Mikiya a certain amount of strife for your own ends is not needed" the Mystic Eyes user said. "Just thinking that she might kill again makes me want to vomit" Shiki steered the conversation back on track.

Touko snorted "hate for your own kind" the "Red' stated in a resigned tone "well your kind does not like to stick together, after all" the Magus reasoned as she exhaled the smoke that she had in her lungs before putting the cigarette to her mouth again and repeated the process. Her attention was caught by Mikiya packing up his things. Realising what he was doing she said "I guess Fujino Asagami's past is worth looking into" Touko then glanced at Mal. "Mal" she began "keep an eye on him and make sure he does not get into too much trouble."

"She may be just another victim" Mal stated as several of his familiar followed after Mikiya and vanished. Touko was of the same opinion Shiki for her part was only looking at the boy from the side as she stood in at the window. "The question which was first" Mal reasoned.

"Christ" Shiki swore though it was unknown if she was a Christian. "I guess his stupidity can't be cured" the young woman said referring to her lover who had just left. "He better no do things that are too reckless that requires your more capable familiars to be used there."

Mal's only reply was a vicious smirk that made even Shiki freeze up for a moment, but like most of his smiles it was gone as quickly as it had come. "Despite your attitude usually indicating otherwise, you are just as head over heels for him as he is for you" Mal informed her.

Shiki snorted at this but offered no argument, Mal was very good at explaining why he was right, sometimes even if he was wrong the Mystic Eyes user suspected. Though in regards to this Mal was not insufferable for Shiki and she actually found him to be rather nice to have as company at times. That and she was interested as to why her _eyes_ hurt whenever she looked at him forcing her to look away, though she did notice that some of the things he touched had more lines on them after he had touched them, than they had beforehand. This made him rather strange, when Shiki had taken it up with Touko the Magus herself had become very interested in what she was talking about. This possibly meant that the red haired boy did not know about what he was doing by touching any object that was in his reach.

* * *

That night Mal saw from the eyes of his familiar something that made his blood run thick with pure hatred. "That girl" the pre teen said in a very merciless tone "how dare she" Mal said to himself. "I'll kill her" the boy stated as he began to head in the direction of his quarry.

"Hunting a fellow human as if they were nothing more than an animal" a melodious but slightly sinister voice rang out to Mal from across rooftop. "Even at such a young age you are thoroughly interesting for a human, it is all the more so because you are only a little boy."

Mal felt the ice and fire in his veins surge forth as his cold and venomous pride rose to the surface. It was much like an Iceberg appearing small at the top but in truth being far greater underneath, only this one could explode like a volcano in the right circumstances. Turning around clearly showing the scorn and disdain he held for this new person in his bright amber eyes Mal's antagonism grew greater as he saw what it was but not who was before him. "And what about me interests one such as you?" the boy asked before adding "Dead Apostle."

"My, my" the Dead Apostle before Mal said evaluating him with her scarlet eyes. "You are a Magus after all so even a young one like yourself should know a little about us, but to clearly identify one of us with only seeing me for the first time, your truly are gifted for your age" the Dead Apostle informed him. She had long black hair that had a shine to it even in the night, the Dead Apostle also wore a black dress with red outlines. Less important for the boy was that her beauty was enchanting, It was not possible for a human to be the beautiful.

While it being during the night, made the possible confrontation that was to come in the Dead Apostles favour due to their nocturnal behaviour, it also did provide a few bonuses for Mal, he had much more shadows to work with here, all that was necessary was to get all the lights in the area off and he would have her at his mercy. Shadows were a very useful thing and even now he felt them writhing in his control strained as tight as wires ready to lash out and impale to the child of the Crimson Moon before him. That and since it was darker he could use more of his Thaumaturgy without having to worry about it being seen. "You are evading the question" Mal stated with authority the had not been there mere second ago. "You using a great many words to say very little and my patience is starting to run thin."

"Such authority" the Dead Apostle commented "such a regal voice, are you sure you are even human?" she asked. "When you spoke just then I felt as if I were in the presence of a great monarch, one that was not known for his mercy but his power and drive to accomplish his goals" the Dead Apostle explained. "But alas I am doing it again am I not?" she asked rhetorically. "In truth I was passing by to face my _little_ sister and then take back what that _thief_ stole from me, when I caught a whiff of your scent upon the air" she explained. "You unlike most humans and even other Magi smelled unique" the Dead Apostle informed him. "I was rather surprised to find you apprenticed to the Puppet Master of all people, and with your name it made it all the more confusing, so I have to ask are you the Magus Killers and the 'Red's' love child?" Not realising the offence or not caring the Dead Apostle continued as if it were a trivial matter "It's while you don't look too much like wither your hair is only a few shades more orange than hers, so I thought that Miss Blue may be having a nephew."

"You come here and waste my time to ask such a pointless question" Mal replied before he tuned his back on her and began to walk away. "This is a waste of time I have someone who betrayed my trust to to punish for her crime, leave me be" the last part was a demand.

"A little irritated are we?" the Dead Apostle stated as her footsteps could be heard as she walked closer to Mal at a faster pace than he was walking away from her. Soon she was looming over him and placed a hand on his cheek as she stroked it. "Such a precious child" the Dead Apostles commented as her hand then went and ran itself through his hair. "I could use a servant like you" she stated. "What do you say?" she asked "Why don't you just give pretending up being human and serve me boy?, _I'll take very good care of you_." This part of her speech made Mal tense. "There is no need to be afraid boy" the Dead Apostle informed him "I don't have any Servants, they all just people who claim to serve me, so you will be my first and my most special one, the one that I and I alone chose to serve me" she said.

"The offer you have placed is tempting" Mal admitted "but what is the point of having such power if you are not your own master?" he asked her. "I myself refuse to answer to any will other than my own" he informed the Dead Apostle. "So I will politely refuse your offer."

To the boy's surprise the woman let go of him and chuckled darkly, but it was in good humour at least Mal had reason to believe that she was not laughing at him just yet. "I am refused by a boy who has yet to see his second decade on this earth?" the question did not require an answer as it was rhetorical in it's nature. "I who am the ninth of the twenty seven Dead Apostle Ancestors" it seemed she was giving him tiny but extremely useful snippets about who she really was. "I who was the first Dead Apostle to ever hold the title of of Brunestud."

Now that was interesting there were only two who held that name and Mal knew of the former and her location, which was surprisingly close to Fuyuki city, she was not Arcueid, she lacked the blond hair and her dress was too extravagant for that. The Woman in front of the boy was a Dead Apostle not a True Ancestor, also she could never be the Moon Princess much less the Archetype: earth. She did say that she was the ninth Dead Apostle Ancestor so that meant from what he had read of the list that she was "Altrouge Brunestud." he finished. "You are a hybrid of a True Ancestor and a Dead Apostle" despite the fact that he was facing the most powerful figure he had seen in his life, Mal was unnervingly calm about this whole situation. "A being of great power, but has yet to actually achieve anything worth of remembrance." If Altrouge was offended wit the last comment she did a good job of not showing her displeasure, though no doubt the hybrid of Dead Apostle and True Ancestor knew that Mal was not even trying to be insulting to her and just stating what he knew about her.

"Are you suggesting something?" Altrouge asked after he had finished speaking, her tone held an undercurrent to it that made Mal know he was treading on thin ice, and that one wrong word would have her react. Mal was not confident that he could defeat her as he was now.

"Only that the world I envision may hold a place for you in it if you so choose" Mal said and let the words hang in the air as their many possible implications sank in, truthfully Mal was interested in seeing what conclusion the Dead Apostle Ancestor would arrive at and how.

"That is indeed interesting" Altrouge stated placing her hand under her chin in a contemplating manner. "I know you are not suggesting that I work for you, but the way you said it left room for that type of misunderstanding, which is why you did it" the Dead Apostle said to him a rather amused smirk playing across her face. "I knew you would e interesting and entertaining" she informed Mal "but not to this extent." looking up at the moon and then finally back at the boy in front of her Altrouge spoke "you are suggesting that we be allies."

"You scratch my back" Mal replied "I scratch yours" the red haired boy informed the Dead Apostle. "I see no real reason for us to be enemies" he explained "other than the fact that you are something the Crimson Moon made to wipe out humanity at Gaia's request that is."

"Well at least your honest about it" Altrouge said finding this whole encounter rather amusing. "Now run along now little boy" she instructed "You've given me a great deal to consider, though I will say I find your response to be rather amusing, that is to say the least about it." Mal for his part didn't need to be told twice and put as much distance between him and the Dead Apostle Ancestor as possible before he finally stopped and sniffed the air. "What is that Magus up to?" Mal asked himself, knowing he should report all of this to Touko as soon as possible. After thinking about it for a minute Mal decided that hone call would be enough for the Dead Apostle, because if Altrouge was really searching for Arcueid then she was only passing through. On the other hand Touko probably knew about the incident with the driver already or would soon without his help. At the moment all else was secondary, finding the Magus and killing whoever they were took top priority, while Touko was never officially the Owner of Mifune, it was unclaimed territory so Mal knew there was only a few reasons why a Magus would be here, one of them was Shiki and the high number of descendants of Demon hunters that populated the city, another more obvious one was that they weree trying to reach route, the two did overlap, but Mal had the feeling if he found this Magus he might find Fujino as well.

* * *

"Thank you I shall repay this debt, Officer Akimi, goodbye" Touko put down the phone, first was a call from Mal about the Ninth Dead Apostle Ancestor being in the area the other was her confirming the death of a certain driver that happened earlier in the night. Taking off her glasses Touko addressed Shiki her tone had changed completely from when she was on the phone. "Shiki, its the seventh victim" she informed the young woman dressed in the kimono. "It seems Minato Keita does not know this victim" Touko informed Shiki.

"Then I can can't wait any longer" Shiki stated as she walked over to the couch and grabbed her trademark red jacket. As she began to walk out of Garan no Dou

"Shiki" Touko called out as she threw three cards at the girl who caught them. "I made my client make those card keys" the 'Red' explained. The name on the cards read 'Souren Araya'. "But the name on the cards belongs to an old acquaintance of mine" Touko informed her. Shiki for her part read each card before pocketing them in her jacket. "I am sure the Fujino Asagami stole cards like these" Touko stated as she took out a cigarette and pt it into her mouth. "It'll be troublesome but finish this before Kokutou gets back" she instructed Shiki. "Also please be aware thatt Mal most likely knows and Is going there to kill Fujino himself." Touko added.

"We can't let that happen" Shiki agreed "Mal himself is a very dark natured person but at least he is trying to help others though he does so in his own unique way" As Shiki exited she said. "Killing Fujino himself will have a dramatic change on his perception of things, we don't want him walking down an even darker path than the one he already is on." With that Shiki exited the building in search of Fujino.

"So Kokutou could not make it in time, this time" Touko mused before sighing, I guess since Mal might do something far worse than just kill her things might get complicated" the 'Red' stated blowing out the cigarette smoke from her lungs.

* * *

 **And done, dammit I wasn't able to get to Shiki's and Fujino's duel to the death or something like that. Still now at least I know it is going to be in the next chapter hopefully, scratch that I don't care how long the next chapter is I am going to get that fight scene in it no matter what, seriously this is vexing me to no end.**

 **Anyways I hope you enjoyed the Chapter. If you have any feedback you would like to give or any ideas you would like to share please feel free to PM me or leave a review, on that note I will say it is preferable to leave a review as I have found that it is easier to reference the material that way when I am writing the next chapter. Still thank you to OverDemon for your PM, I rather found that inspiring so thanks again.**

 **Finally I hope you enjoyed this Chapter until next time.**

 **One final note, telling me I need a Beta isn't feedback, I already know, just that the only one who offered was kinda busy and I didn't want to trouble him since he said he can only do it on Sundays.**


	11. Chapter 10: Remaining Sense of Pain 04

**So yeah sorry for the late update all of you who follow my fic, but there is good news as I was able to include at least part of Shiki's and Fujino's fight in this chapter though I am still a bit unhappy that I had to cut it off short because if I included all of the fight this Chapter would be fat too long. Still the tenth Chapter is here I hope you enjoy**

* * *

" _I've continually fought, and with each battle I've been killing my own heart. And my heart has been completely void of feeling for quite a long time now. Maybe my life doesn't have value anymore, but I have to keep on living. I have a home to go back to._ " -Trowa Barton, Mobilesuit Gundam Wing

* * *

In one of the buildings near the longer bridge in Mifune City Fujino Asagami crouched down breathing hard, she had rushed inside here just as it began to rain she wished to avoid getting wet. As she panted heavily the girl thought back to a rather fond and singular memory.

There were children or to be more exact young teens in all sorts of uniforms walking around a specified area. Several signs were written in kanji with the worlds 'field day' on them. It was to be some kind of sports activity with different schools all competing together in it.

Two girls in a red militaristic type of uniform were walking together and laughing, behind them in the same attire Fujino trailed behind, though her face unlike her fellows was blank as it usually was. It was then that she stopped, it seemed that this did not go unnoticed by the others who turned around to look at her and asked "what is wrong, Fujino chan?" the words were sincere and it seemed that these two girls liked to think they were Fujino's friends, perhaps they were since the girl did walk around with them or maybe they were not friends.

Regardless of this Fujino replied "I forgot my towel" she lied to the two putting on fake panic in her voice as not to be to convince the two other girls "please go on back" she requested meaning for them to believe that she didn't want to burden them with her own troubles.

The two girls nodded and departed leaving Fujino behind waving as they left. Fujino waved back, when she stopped the girl looked down at her left ankle which was bruised red and swollen, normally this would leave a person with it in great amounts of pain but this girl was not a normal person. In truth Fujino did not want to keep walking in case it aroused suspicion about her, while she did not feel any pain Fujino was not sure what others would say if they found out that she did not feel any pain, what she knew was that she had to conceal it.

A hand gently rested on Fujino's shoulder causing her to react in a surprised fashion to someone coming in physical contact with her. Looking to the side she saw a boy in a different school uniform "does it hurt?" the teen asked with a kind and friendly smile on his face. Fujino looked away and shook her head in what seemed to be a shy manner, she was in fact simply telling the truth though no one would believe her in this sense. Bending down the boy requested for her to let him look at it, carefully analysing the damage to her ankle.

" _I didn't want anyone to know that I can't feel pain_ " Fujino had thought as she shyly looked away from the boy in front of her opting to look to the side " _I'm sure I'll break unless people think I'm normal_ " Fujino had thought imitating the pain she believed that she should feel.

Getting up the boy spoke "you're stupid" he informed her, though the words were rude his tone was still kind, but had a caring and concerned edge to them. "Listen" the boy began "pain isn't something you bear pain is something you have to speak about." he explained to her.

After that he had offered to carry her even though she was from a different school and even though he had no reason to help her at all. " _Come to think of it_ " Fujino thought as she recalled that memory " _it was from the day._ " Fujino's train of thought was cut off as she managed to get back up and began to walk. As the girl walked out of the building into the howling wind and rain she finished her thoughts before speaking "sempai" she said with a smile of pure happiness on her face as she walked out into the store and fully exposed herself to it.

* * *

Mal resisted the urge to snarl in frustration, now things were getting interesting but he could not confront her without risking leaving both of their backs open to the Magus who was also making a move at this time, why the Magi was making his move was something that at the moment Mal was not wholly sure of, though he did suspect that it might have something to do with root, then again most Magi were trying to get to it, though Mal was unsure of how you could get to it with Fujino's ability, though perhaps that was just a speculation.

" _I guess I will have to let Shiki handle Fujino until I get there_ " Mal said to himself as he got up and went in the direction where his familiars had picked up the Magus's activity. " _Still at least I will be able to monitor his movements from now one if nothing else_ " Mal thought. That may be a bonus as of yet heh ad yet to find where the Magus had set up his workshop if he even had one in the city, though Mal suspected that since most Magi were traditional and liked to make a habit of sticking to it like feathers and glue on a stick, this meant that this Magus most certainly would have some form of workshop or at least a base of operations if nothing else. Though Mal was more planning on having it monitored by his familiars instead of attacking it head on, even he was not a fool to face an enemy on their terms, nor was he game to face a Magus in their own workshop, at least not yet when he had limited resources at his disposal, unlike his legal guardian Mal did not have access to explosives save the ones that he had made himself, that and he desired for the odds to be in his favour for that.

" _For now I should attempt to take his life while he is outside of his workshop and bounded fields_ " Mal planned internally " _if I can do some form of damage to his person I might be able to ward him off while Shiki confronts Fujino, or even better force him to flee from here._ "

Mal was careful not to reveal his presence, he wanted the element of surprise here, that way when the battle began even if it was for all but a moment he would have the advantage, catching a foe unawares was something that was useful if used in the proper way. This and the fact that Mal now had in his possession some new things that he had been previously experimenting with and decided that perhaps he should test them out on the Magus if he had the chance, Mal believed that he could win but only if he timed this with perfect precision.

" _Perhaps it is a good thing then that I was experimenting with the Hammer of Vaul and how far I could go with my tracing and projection_ " the red haired pre teen reasoned, Though he did wonder what he should bring out of there next time h e traced something that powerful.

Mikiya Kokutou walked into the office of Garan no Dou drenched, he was tired and wet but he had managed to get what little he could during the day he had been out. Touko was sitting down in a blue long sleeved shirt with a citrate in her mouth and her lighter on. The 'Red' was clearly surprised to see Mikiya there as she had frozen in the motion of lighting her cigarette. Turning her lighter off Touko took the cigarette out of her mouth "That was fast" she stated "it's only been a day." the Puppet master was rather impressed with his work ethic.

"I head a Typhoon was coming" Mikiya replied "So I came before public transportation stopped, he had needed to catch a train to get to where Fujino used to live, so if the Typhoon had hit he would have been stranded in the middle of nowhere for a few days if he had stayed.

"I see" Touko stated as she put the cigarette back in her mouth and lit it before inhaling and then exhaling both deeply. She had a rough day trying to monitor Mal to see what the boy was up to, Touko had to admit that her pupil could be rather illusive at times if he desired it.

"More importantly Touko san" Mikiya addressed her as he put hiss bag down on a desk "It's about Asagami Fujino" he informed her. "She is indeed insensitive to pain, but she used to be normal" Mikiya explained as he turned around to his bag and got something out of it.

"What?" Touko asked surprised at this and what it could mean for them, the 'Red's' mind was working overtime going through every possible way that this tiny bit of information could have effected the Fujino and how it could have made her the way she is now after all of it.

Mikiya got out the notes that he had aken down and began reading them out "The young Asagami lady is a bit unusual" he read aloud. "She can bend things without touching them" the notes explained "I here people in the town found it creep and harassed her." things were starting to come together for Touko who was listening "her father was concerned and came to me for help" it was now clear that Mikiya had recorded this from a person he had been talking to while he was in Fujino's hometown. "Well I didn't to anything" Mikiya read out. "I just prepared the medicine he wanted" there that was it that was what Touko had been looking for, also it seemed that the person Touko had been talking to was a doctor of some sorts or at least a pharmacist, prescribing drugs and all. "Insensitivity to Pain? I don't know about that" the notes read. "But at the very least, when I met she would cry every time she fell or bled" the notes explained. It was clear then that Fujino Asagami had once been able to feel like regular people but it seemed what might have happened with the medicine changed that.

After listening to this Touko spoke up "It's not congenital or acquired" the red haired Magus began pausing after the last word as she looked up at the ceiling "I've never heard of case of insensitivity to pain like this" she informed Mikiya taking in a breathe from her cigarette. "No" Touko corrected herself as she looked back down again. "It's not even correct to call it that at all" she said with a smirk enjoying some private joke that she found amusing, Mal might have though the boy did have a rather morbid and dark sense of humour for a boy. "Asagami Fujino's sensitivity was artificially taken away her" Touko stated. "It's the exact reverse of Shiki's case" the 'Red' said to Mikiya showing one of the things that amused her about this case as a whole as she laughed after she had said that line. After the brief fit of laughter the Magus spoke again "Fujino's father decided to seal her ability by sealing her senses. It's the opposite of the Ryougi family, which tries to develop them with power" she stated. Touko then gave a small laugh "but how sad" she began with a small sigh at what she was about to say "Fujino's ability became more powerful because of that" she explained. Clearly the 'Red' was enjoying the irony of all of this not matter how inappropriate it was in the current point in time. Still she did have a valid point about this whole mess with Fujino.

"The Asakami's blood" Mikiya said his voice soft but with a sad undertone to it "the Ryougi's blood" he continued. "It was clear that he didn't appreciate the situation the way Touko was at the moment. It was at this point that Mikiya realised something that he should by all rights haven noticed have noticed much sooner "Touko san" he said a little frantic "where is Shiki and Mal?" he asked though it was more waiting for Touko to confirm that the two of them had most likely gone out to confront Fujino, though he did not know if Mal had.

Touko closed her eyes as she stopped smiling and took on a far more serious expression "they" she began but paused carefully to decide on what words she was going to use next "have already left" the 'Red' finished leaving it at that. Mal's activities were hidden from her at this point in time and Shiki was most likely going to try and confront Fujino, whether she was ding so with or without Mal remained a mystery at this point in time though Mal had recently sent a message that another Magus was also heading towards Fujino's current location.

" _Could the boy have changed his target as seeing the Magus as a bigger threat to be dealt with knowing that Shiki will them most likely confront Fujino alone_ " Touko pondered. Knowing her pupil he might have since Mal liked to deal with threats as soon as it was possible.

* * *

The two got into Touko's car as she drove in a rather violent fashion with Mikya in the passenger say, it was rather obvious that the two of them were in a hurry given the frantic way the 'Red' was driving, in the middle of the rain. "Touko san is she treatable?" Mikiya asked.

The red car that they were in took a sharp turn and skidded before it began to move forward again, jerking the occupants in the same time. "That wound won't heal" Touko replied "it will only continue to hurt" she explained. Seeing that he clearly didn't what she had meant, Touko decided to explain a bit further for Mikiya. "You see, she was never wounded to beging with that girl" the 'Red' stated a smile creeping on her face as she spoke enjoying the irony of the situation. "Think about it. If you get stabbed in the stomach does the wound heal by itself?" she asked rhetorically, the amusement in Touko's voice was now clear for Mikiya to hear. "In just a day or two, at that" she added making it easier to her employee to see where she was going with all of this. It seemed that he did as Mikiya gasped, knowing this Touko chuckled, it was clear where Mal got his sense of humour from. "It all started with a trivial matter, Kokutou" the 'Red' explained still smiling. "At the time, Fujino though she was going to be stabbed" Touko began. "No" the 'Red' corrected what she had just said "I am sure the girl really was about to be stabbed" she said. "Her sense of Pain was already back at that point" Touko told him "the stab or the twisting" the Magus stated "Fujino was faster" the 'Red' summarised with a rather viscous grin. "Fujino must have thought that she had been stabbed in the stomach" Touko explained showing why she was wearing that type of smile that would set a person's hairs on end. Well a normal person's hairs at any rate though Mikiya was far too generous and kind to be normal he was less bizarre that Shikir or Mal.

"That' strange" Mikiya protested "If her sense of pain was there she wouldn't have believed that she had been stabbed" he said. "If she didn't get stabbed it wouldn't hurt" this would make sense to most people but there was one thing that he didn't know of about the victim.

Touko for her part just kept her smile on still rather amused with this whole mess "She was already in pain to begin with" the Magus explained eliciting a gas from her employee as the two drove down the road, they weren't breaking the speed limit just yet, but soon would be. The two of them drove in awkward silence as the 'Red' let Mikiya understand the results if what she had just said was true. It was a pity Mal was not around as Touko knew that he could share the sentiment that she had about all of this, though he would laugh more at this .

* * *

Mal looked at the mountain of a man whom he was going to confront. He looked at his prey, and found that the Magus was rather impressive, to be able to be barely noticeable without actually doing much was a gift, to be able to pull it off while being a giant of a man more so. However Mal knew that this was not the time for him to admire his choice of advisory and attack, giving away his position by openly challenging the Magus was not something Mal was confident enough to do yet, but the temptation was still there and it was by no means something that was easy to ignore. Mal was quite aware that he was arrogant, inhumanly so, which was why he strove to curb such actions before they began, as it could very well get him killed, that incident with the Ninth Dead Apostle Ancestor was more of a fluke than and her decision to humour him. Internally sighing Mal waited for the Magus to get into the position he had taken for his ambush, while it was not the best place he would have been expecting one from another position that was better for such a tactic, still it was better than some.

Without warning shadows flared ad shot towards the Magus it was most fortunate that there was not much light otherwise the Magus would have had more of a prior warning. Still the Magus was able to avoid most of Mal's first assault, though he got a few scrapes from the attacks he had been barely able to dodge. Still that fact that he was bleeding was enough for Mal at the current point in time. The Magus knew he was being attacked and had been attacked by someone who was surely hostile. Mal had to play it more carefully from here on.

" _He seems to be pondering whether or not to turn back as he knows he is pressed for time_ " the red haired boy noted, that was something he was not. The idea of Delaying him was not a bad one but it irked Mal's pride to simply be a delay for anyone, at this moment he was in the mood for blood. " _Well then_ " Mal said to himself as he began to attack the Magus while being sure not to give away his location " _I believe it's time that I turned things up a notch_ " he said as he projected several copies of knives that he reinforced to to where their edges were impossibly sharp. " _not the best practise run for this but I suppose it will do_ " Mal noted as he began to barrage the Magus with more than just shadows. He had been tempted to bring some of his more capable familiars but didn't want to risk them being damaged just yet. That and the fact that most of them if not all were currently in Fuyuki, where they had been sent to build and prepare his workshop for when he returned. Mal crushed these thoughts as they were not needed for the moment and concentrated on killing the Magus before him.

* * *

Fujino Asagami stood on the bridge in the rain, she clutched her side at the imaginary stab wound she had received, now for the first time since she had got on the bridge did the girl look up, a tired look on her face. It was the kind of look that one would have if they had just woken up from a pleasant sleep. The reason why the girl looked up was that across the bridge was a young woman, the woman she had seen the other night only this time she was wearing a red jacket on top of her kimono. The rain and rough wind did not seem to bother her.

"We finally meet again, Asagami" the woman stated, she was smiling in a rather cruel way. It seemed that this other girl was clearly excited at this meeting with Fujino, after she had spoken woman began to advance on the girl student, most likely with the intent to kill her.

"You, again" Fujino replied staring shocked at the young woman walking to wards her. "Why did you come here?" the girl asked. It seemed that at least Fujino appeared to be on edge, most likely she was due to the fact that she was able to 'feel' at this current point in time.

"You're a beast, that has learned the taste of blood" the jacket wearing girl replied as she walked forward, her smile showing her desire for blood. "You are _enjoying_ murder" she stated to the girl. Her pace was not fast but rather normal paced, it made it all the more menacing.

While this other girl was advancing Fujino stood stock still "That is you" she replied reflecting the other girls statements back onto her while trying to deny what had been said. "I'm not enjoying it at all" Fujino lied to herself closing her eyes while resting a hand on her head.

While her eyes were closed Fujino was aware of the fact that the woman before her was raising a knife and pointing it at her 'there is a saying in this country 'third times the charm'" the woman explained. "Th way you are now, I can kill you" she informed Fujino happily.

After saying this the other girl began to rush towards Fujino her knife now held to he side as her black eyes now glowed blue showing that she had activated her mystic eyes. Fujino stood there her hand on her head and her eyes closed. Then she opened them wide as they now glowed red in colour with a rather terrifying expression on the face of the school girl even if it was only there for a moment before her features returned to a more resting position. The the place where the young woman was about to run into began to look distorted.

Seeing this with her own mystic eyes the other woman without stopping leapt to the side to avoid it, performing quite the leap to do so, Fujino on the other hand just remained in the same position only tilting her her head to the side and then turning around as the kimono wearing woman flanked her. Smiling in a wicked fashion Fujino looked at her foe and said to herself more than to the other woman "that is not enough _._ " It was true the area around the woman's left arm was now distorted "to get away from me" she finished with a cruel smile.

The other woman seemed to take notice of this and actually leapt off the bridge, which meant that she had leap rather high in the air to accomplish this. With her foe out of her sight Fujino Asagami looked crestfallen, she ran after her and looked over the bridge's edge. They wee not over the lake in this instance so there were still buildings that her foe could have landed on. Looking down Fujino say that the glass ceiling of on of the buildings had a hole broken through it indicating where the other woman had landed. The school girl was shocked at this "what and absurd person?" she said to herself noting that fall the woman would have had to endure and the landings she would have suffered to get too the ground from there. "But" Fujino said as she began to smile "I am the stronger one" the girl stated.

* * *

Touko and Mikiya still drove through the city "I've heard from her current doctor" the 'Red' began "She has chronic cecitis, more well known known as appendicitis" she told him, they were talking about why Fujino felt pain in her body when she didn't have any form of stab wound on it. "The pain in her stomach is not from a knife wound but rather the organ itself" Touko explained. Knowing that Mikiya was going to say she spoke "the wound itself is a misunderstanding, but that does not change the facts" she told him. "Whether the knife wound was there or not her only way out was to ill them all" Touko explained. "She would have been killed if she hadn't, not in her body but in her mind" Touko painted a rather bleak picture for Fujino's situation with these matter of fact words. However your fiend Keita escaped" the 'Red' continued. "Mal probably already knows this but things would not have come this far if it had all ended back then" Touko stated the reason why Mal had been glaring in the direction where Kieta had been where they were when he was last seen by them.

It also seemed that Mikiya was feeling bad that he had not kept his promise to his sister Azaka despite what Mal had told him when they both had been at Garan no Dou. Then again Mal had said it in a way that was more hard to take in as he was being an ass about all of it.

"Shiki is right" Touko spoke once more "either way Fujino Asagami is beyond our help." Before her employee could protest Touko continued "Shiki was referring to Fujino's mental state" the 'Red' explained. "Fujino's acts were murder up until the 5th victim" she explained "killing anyone beyond that was not murder, but slaughter" Touko stated. "Shiki is mad because she sees no reason for slaughter" the 'Red' elaborated. "In any case I do not believe that we are going to make it in time to prevent a confrontation" she stated in a tired voice.

* * *

Fujino looked at the result of her battle with the other woman. While she had the advantage in that she only needed to see the other person to attack them with her power, it seemed tat her foe's experience with needing to quickly get to her opponents to utilise her ow power came into effect as she was agile enough to keep out of Fujino's sight just long enough for the other girl to not be able to utilise her mystic eyes. "Your better than me" the Asagami girl admitted. "But if I can't see You" Fujino began she left the sentence unfinished as she started to distort things that weren't in her line of sight, what she was unaware of was hthe fact that she was destroying the support beams of the bridge ad would cause the part that they were under to collapse soon if she didn't stop what she was doing, but Fujino did not stop.

"You sure like to talk a lot" the other girl informed her causing Fujino to gasp in surprise as she turned around to see the kimono wearing woman leap at her from behind, for some reason she opted to put her left hand out in front to as if to grab the girl. The reason became apparent when her left arm was twisted like a screw in an attempt to stop her, blood was sprayed everywhere and Fujino for some reason was terrified. Not pausing the woman moved her now useless arm out of her way as she landed and lunged at her target with the knife.

Fujino screamed putting her hands to cover her ears and ducked below barely avoiding the stab that would have gouged her throat open. Looking up at the woman who had landed behind her Fujino looked at her "go away" she screamed as she distorted the area she saw. But it seemed that her attack missed once again as her foe had moved out of the way. Panting heavily as she kneeled to recover Fujino spoke "what a person" she murmured. "I even destroyed her arm" the girl said holing her head in her hands frightened. "Why didn't she stop?"

Elsewhere but nearby Shiki took off her red jacket that was stained with blood. "that was bad" Shiki stated as she took her knife o cut her kimono so she could remove her now useless left arm. she had a taste for murder but understood how serious death was, Fujino didn't.

"Let me take a look at that" a new but familiar voice said as Shiki was on guard immediately. Looking around she was barely able to spy a figure as it walked out of the Shadows in the corridor. It was Mal, he was brused and bloody as if he had been in a fight of his own.

"Mal" Shiki began to notice that he would have not been fighting Fujino but someone else around her "How did you get into that state?" she asked her concern for her younger brother like figure taking over even if only for a moment. "You seem to be badly hurt" she stated.

Mal just walked up to Shiki and took her twisted arm "while your family is a rich one I suggest you do not waste hidden treasures like your kimono here" the red haired boy stated. "after all how many of these allow people to do any form of acrobatics in them?" he asked. Shiki knew that it was rhetorical and also saw that he had avoided and ignored her question. "You still have not answered me as to how you entered that condition." While the damage looked to be serious the way he held himself showed that they were minor for him.

Once again Mal did not reply though this time he did not speak either taking Shikis loose arm before forcing the muscles to untwist which caused Shiki to grit her teeth in pain as to his choice of healing methods hurt even someone with a high pain tolerance like her. Shiki did suspect that Mal may have had some secret agenda in using what was probably one of the more painful methods for recovery, though it may have been that he wanted to sate his own urge to cause others pain, though he did so by helping them recover in the process.

Finally after he had finished _fixing_ Shiki's arm back to pristine condition did Malekith Emiya look up at his surrogate older sister, on a side note he liked her more than Taiga. "Found someone who was playing with puppets and broke one of them, a pity he has more," the boy answered in a cryptic fashion, but Shiki knew that he would explain part of it to her later "it's just the price to be paid for underestimating your opponent an not properly planning or preparing" the red haired boy admitted "now that your arm is fixed" Mal stated as Shiki clenched and unclenched her fists to make sure that it was functioning properly. "Are you ready to continue?" he asked her.

* * *

 **Omake -Archer the Faker**

Lancer and Archer clashed twin white and black scimitars against a blood red spear. As the two broke off Archer found that he was handed some form of sheet. "What is this?" the Counter Gaurdian asked as he read the geis "If I do not comply with the terms and conditions I will what?" he shouted a little out of it. Looking to the see who had thrown the papers at him he was greeted with a sight he did not expect. There was the younger version of himself, red hair amber eyes, though his skin was a little paler than the counter guardian remembered. Also the look in his eyes was quite inhuman with the amount of scorn they held.

"hey" Lancer shouted at the teen "what do you think you're doing interrupting our figh like that?" the Hound of Ulster asked.

"I am currently making sure that whoever is using my brand of Magecraft pays for using it" Mal replied with barely a glance at the Hound of Ulster "now be a good hound and wait for instructions, as your coward of a Master is currently being swarmed by my familiars and I am in the process of stealing his command seals." Mal explained.

"Emiya" the voice of Rin Tohsaka rang out "what the hell do you think your doing?" the Tsundere asked enraged at him.

Mal fixed Rin with his dread gaze causing her to flinch and whimper "Tohsaka" the Tyrant of Fuyuki said to it's second owner. "While you are in your rights to be vexed please understand who hold the power here in Fuyuki" he gently reminded her of their first confrontation where he had been playing host to Altrouge Brunestead and had humiliated her with his show of thaumaturgy. Not to mention his theft of Fuyuki city and declaring himself ther 'Tyrat of Fuyuki City' to the Moonlit world.

"Wait if you're here then how are you stealing my coward of a Master's command seals?" Lancer asked he also left the fact that he had not bee called back by Kirei Kotomine unsaid.

"I am a puppet designed to go about Fuyuki if he so desires, as such I am also him as I am in direct control of all of my puppet bodies." Mal explained almost conversationally bfore his eyes returned to archer "By the way you might want to sign that right about now" he informed the Counter gaurdian.

" _What type of hell is this?_ " Archer asked himself as he looked at his younger self and realised that this boy could never have been Emiya Shirou, that meant that his plan wasn't going to work and now he was stuck with geis he did not want to sign but would have to unless he wanted to back to Alaya

* * *

 **Yeah Shiki and Fujino will be having a round to and to those of you who have seen Kara no Kyokai so far shiki will not be getting a puppet arm as Mal just fixed it so things will be slightly different in this** slaughter **part of the story than they are in cannon. Then again with Fate/Stay Night shit is going to be non cannon with all that is happening so look forward to that, when we get there, eventually I think. As for the Omake I was a tiny bit bored and tried to do something though the Geis was more of a joke than anything else though I am wondering How Lancer would do for Mal's servant. Anyways until next time.**


	12. Chapter 11: Remaining Sense of Pain 05

**So yeah I can guarantee that this is the final Chapter of Remaining Sense of Pain I am proud to say that I have finished this arc. Finally seriously this seemed to drag on forever and ever, nice that I was able to finish it leaves me with a sense of accomplishment. Also last chapter I received a review that I didn't fully understand something about trying way too hard with Shirou, anyone have any ideas on what that meant as it still eludes me, well kind of. Anyway here is the final of the Remaining Sense of Pain Arc, seriously this shit dragged out for so long thought I was going to go bat shit crazy. Ayway I hope you enjoy**

* * *

" _If you weren't here, I would have become the world's absolute evil. Unbiased terror scattered throughout the world that can establish real peace. Don't think that all children are waiting for heroes. There are even kids around the world waiting for a great monster to take the stage. Can you save them? Can you follow the ugly kid being picked on in the park? I can. I can save the whole world with terror! While humanity is fearing Garou the Monster, everyone's hearts will unite to survive. Is there any peace other than this? Can you create peace? Can you, unbiased, save the world with that flimsy cape? Do you have the means to stop the unseen tragedies? You're strong... but so what? You may defeat me, but can you handle it? The responsibility. Well? If you're going to defeat me then answer the question! What will you accomplish? Why will you kill me now? Do you have a sense of duty like mine? Why are YOU a hero!?_ " Garou, One Punch man

* * *

Shiki looked at Mal as a viscous grin plastered itself across the girls face "This is great" the kimono wearing young woman stated her voice excited but still soft. "Fujino is the best" Shiki said more to herself than to Mal standing in front of her or to Fujino who was walking around searching for Shiki. After this Shiki let out a short sigh "both of us know it's of no use" she spoke to Mal as she flexed her left hand just to make sure it was functioning properly after Mal had repaired it. "But still" she addressed the boy in front of her "let's go."

Mal nodded before moving away his footsteps not making a sound as he ran it seemed that the red haired boy had planned on outflanking Fujino when Shiki confronted the girl. As he left the heiress of the Ryougi clan observed the wounds the boy had. While at first it just seemed to be a large number of scrapes, bruises and light cuts all along his body. However Shiki's mystic eyes say even further than that " _that boy_ " she said to herself as she stood up and sprinted to confront Fujino. " _He should have healed his own wounds first, I wonder how he is even alive with those fractured bones of his_ " Shiki recalled that three of Mal's ribs were broken when she looked at him with her mystic eyes. " _He really is something else to play them all down as simply being_ _a minor inconvenience and act like they aren't even there_ " Shiki saw Fujino walking down a corridor and moved to over take the girl so she could confront her face to face. " _It makes me excited and concerned to wonder what type of man he would become_ " Shiki noted as she saw Mal tailing Fujino at a distance waiting for her.

* * *

Fujino finally came to a halt, still clutching her side as she saw Shiki standing in front of her "As I thought" the Asagami girl said her eyes glowing red "you are insane" she stated referring to how Shiki had come out to confront her. She did not notice that her opponent's left arm was no longer twisted or hanging limply by her side. For her part Fujino was giving a wicked smile as she stood up straight her Mystic eyes of alteration glaring with murderous intent into Shiki's Mystic eyes of death perception, who in turn returned the glare with one of her own. Shiki then held out her knife to the side as she began to walk at a regular pace towards Fujino. Seeing thing Fujino's eyes widened before she looked directly at Shiki cutting everything else out smiling she uttered a single word "bend" she said with malicious intent.

Shiki this time did not dash to the side to avoid Fujino's attack, instead she raised her knife as she gave a predatory grin before slashing at the thin air before her. Fujino's eyes widened in shock at this, somehow her power was not working or Shiki had somehow negated it.

"Things without form are hard to see but you used it to many times" a new voice informed Fujino who was even more shocked but dared not to turn her back on Shiki, what was worse was that she knew this voice, while it was similar to the one at the docks it was also held a similarity to the boy named Mal whom she had met twice before. "Against and opponent like Shiki that is probably a mistake you would want to avoid making" he added. Refusing to believe it Fujino tried to use it again only to have a similar reaction and result. "Thanks to you Shiki can now see them with her eyes" Mal explained "your power is a spiral of red and green" he stated. Again Fujino tried using her alteration powers and again Shiki sliced through them "Truly your power I beautiful" Mal commented, she had yet to turn and face him.

Finally Fujino Asagami took a step back but was reminded that there was someone behind her when she felt an ominous chill in the form a cool breeze brush h against her back, causing the hairs on her body to stand on end. "Who are you?" Fujino asked finally as she turned so she could keep both of them in her sight, which was difficult as doing so put both figures at the edge of her peripheral vision making it hard for her to see them. Though Fujino was able to alter things not in her sight, she had little control over what she bended in that sense.

This time it was the one Mal had named Shiki who answered "Everything in creation has a flaw" Shiki replied "human don't even need to be mentioned" she added as the young woman raised the knife and pointed it at Fujino. "Air, intent even time" Shiki said as she cocked her head to the side smiling. "My eyes can see the death of things" she explained "they're special just like yours" she informed the girl. Fujino's response was to attack Shiki again. As she slashed through Fujino's attack Shiki spoke once more "So I can kill anything that lives" she stated as she closed her eyes. Reversing her grip on the knife and opening her eyes Shiki finished what she was saying "even if that this is God" she stated though in most senses it was a boast, but in this sense Shiki was not lying or presuming, she knew the truth of it.

Refusing to believe this Fujino closed her eyes and scream "bend" was the only word that came out from her mouth, but it was no use no matter how many times she shouted Shiki just kept on cutting through everything that was thrown at her walking forward when doing so.

Mal was content to watch her as Shiki slowly walked up to her and grabbed Fujino by her collar before slamming the girl onto the ground.. Then everything went a deathly quiet, this was something that Mal rarely was able to enjoy in a city since it was always so noisy in it.

It was Fujino who broke the silence that Mal was enjoying "Are you" she began her voice wavering for a bit "going to kill me?" she asked Shiki what was really a question that didn't need to be asked as at the moment the answer was yes given her mystic eyes were active. "Why are you going to kill me?" she asked this did not have as easier explanation as it would be difficult to understand, that was if you were normal, none present were. "I was only killing because my wound hurt" she tried to explain but this time an icy wind stopped her.

"You" Mal stated as he walked up to them his amber eyes with a merciless glint in them that should have never belonged on a child's face "are lying" he informed her coldly, his tone harsh and unforgiving. "If you were then why are you smiling?" the boy asked her.

"Back then even now" Shiki began as Fujino brought r hand to touch her face to confirm if what the two of them were saying was true. "Why do you look so happy?" Shiki asked her own smile being one of satisfaction as she looked down at what could be called her prey.

"No" Fujino began as she felt her face as she was tearing up "way" the girl finished as she felt that she was smiling despite the impossibility of it all. The fact that she was staring death in the face was not important the fact that she was smiling about all of this was, important.

"In the end you are enjoying it" Shiki explained. "You can't help but enjoy hurting other people" she informed Fujino "that is why your pain will never go away" Shiki stated with certainty as she stared down her knife at Fujino ready to stab and kill her in less than a moment.

"That's the answer?" Fujino asked more than stated as Shiki loomed over her, disbelief clear in the girls voice. An observer would wonder what she meant as if they had seen all of her actions they would have come to a similar conclusion, and not been so surprised about it.

"I told" Shiki said with a smile "we are birds of a feather." Instead of lunging forward Shiki raised the knife and reversed her grip on it for a stabbing motion. At that moment it was clear that Fujino was going to die, it was almost absolute, the key word there was almost.

Refusing to die in a last ditched effort Fujino screamed "Bend!" This time nothing in the area they were in occurred at first but suddenly the entire bridge began to shake and crumble. Somehow the girl had managed to cause the bridge to collapse even though it was far from her sight. Shiki lept backwards to avoid the falling rubble as the ground she stood on collapsed to avoid being crushed or badly she leapt onto the falling bits of debris but was unable to make it out in time and she fell down into the darkness. Fujino on her part was spent nor was she anywhere near a third as athletic as Shiki was, the girl simply slid off the piece of debris that had been where the two of them were standing and fell off plummeting down into the darkness. Of Mal there was no sign, but there was no doubt he was there as well.

* * *

Fujino awoke bloodied and bruised, not to mention bloody, she had not fallen all the way and had landed somewhere that had yet to fully collapse, Fujino knew this. "I have to get out of here" she said to herself not noticing the piece of debris embedded into her shoulder. The pain she already was in was too much. "This place will crumble" Fujino noted as she slowly rose to her feet. She managed to lean against one of the walls as she walked but but due to the loss of blood and the state her body was in she didn't make it far before she collapsed.

On her knees holding her stomach with a painful grimace Fujino Asagami vomited blood from out of her mouth. Couching some of it up she struggled to stand up as she began wheezing, unable to get up Fujino fell hard onto the cold stone floor landing in her own blood.

"No" Fujino managed to say "I don't want to die" clearly the girl was scared. "It hurst" she continued recalling the time she spent in Mikiya's house after Mal had brought her there. "It hurts, it hurts, it hurts" she repeated to herself recalling he event where she had first met Mikiya and how he had helped her. "I want to live on" Fujino said the words as she realised this. With this new found conviction Fujino started to crawl "I want to talk more" she said using the memory of Mikiya as an anchor to fuel her exhausted body. "I want to keep loving him" Fujino said recalling how Mikiya had helped her when her ankle was hurt even though she didn't feel any pain "I want to continue being here?" she said. After saying this Fujino collapsed once more coughing up blood this time laying in a pool of it unable to move..

"It hurts" Fujino once again stated "it hurts, sempai" she said making it clear that she was talking to Mikiya even though he was not present. "It really hurts" she said to herself. "It hurts so much, that I think I'm going to cry" Fujino stated as she closed her both of her eyes and tears began to stream from them. "Can I cry?" Fujino asked though now she was felt darkness creeping into her vision as the girl knew that she was going to fall unconscious. It was then that Fujino felt a Shadow loom over her. Looking up she saw Mall looming over her.

"Is it painful?" Mal asked as Fujino managed to turned over so that she was lying on her her back, his voice different than before, but a whisper though there was evident concern to be heard in it. Though he still wore that scowling expression on his face that showed disdain. "Does it hurt?" Mal asked though due to Fujino's state she heard Mikiya's voice speaking recalling what he had said to her. "If it hurts you should have told someone" the last word was said in Mals voice as she saw the similarities in what the two where saying to her.

Fujino closed her eyes and began to cry. At this point Shiki also managed to get there though she had seen the exchange walking up to Fujino she looked at Mal and spoke "she isn't going to live that much longer with that wound." The red haired boy's only reply to this was the slit inclination of his head, clearly Mal either had too much to say or too little to say about all of this which was why he chose to remain silent. Understanding what he meant, Shiki walked up to Fujino before raising her knife and bringing it down into the girls stomach.

* * *

Miiya Kokutou and Touko Aozaki got out of the 'Red's' red car just in front of the collapsed bridge. Mikiya narrowed his eyes as he spied a figure but then widened them as he realised who that figure was. "Shiki" he said in audible relief in his voice as he ran up to her.

"Yo" Shiki greeted him as he ran up to her "I thought that you would be here somehow" she said with little to no surprise in her voice. Seeing that Mikiya was looking at her arm she moved it to show that it was all fine, so that Mikiya had no reason to worry about it.

"Was Mal with you?"Touko asked though she had a suspicion that her pupil come foster son was still here or at least had been around recently. That or Mal had been caught up in something else that was of more importance to the boy, though that was not good for him either.

"He'll come out later" Shiki replied "Touko" she addressed the 'Red' "Fujino even developed the abbility to see through things at the end and destroyed the bridge" Shiki stated. "She'll become incredibly powerful it left alone" the young woman added as Touko reached her.

"See though things?" Touko repeated as she rested her chin on her hand "Clairvoyance, huh?" she mused. "She'll certainly be invincible if that has indeed been added to her powers, she can make a fulcrum even if you're standing behind something" Touko noted grimly, then suddenly the 'Red' noticed that Shiki was not speaking and then understood what the Girl meant "wait, leave her be?" the surprise was visible on Touko's face. The fact that Shiki had said that when she had spoken and she had not realised was a little irking for the 'Red'.

"Her insensitivity to pain returned as she died" Shiki stated "it was still there after Mal revived and repaired her" she explained. Though he did tell her that if she wanted to feel pain again he would have to replace her eyes" Shiki then looked at Touko "given that he is your apprentice I say that Mal has quite the chances of pulling something like that off, though I will say that he is rather strange for going against what his instincts and desires were asking of him." Shiki had noted that Mal had very much wanted to kill Fujino even at the end. "It's unfair" Shiki complained "I can't kill _that_ Fujino Asagami" she informed Mikiya and Touko. As Mikiya let loose a breathe that he didn't know he had been holding Shiki continued "I couldn't help it so I killed the disease in her stomach instead before she died and left her to Mal." Shiki now began to move her left had testing how well it performed once again "Mal had repaired my arm shortly before the building collapsed so I guess there is no need to get a replacement for it like I originally concluded when it was twisted by Fujino" she stated.

"That's too bad" Touko said with a genuinely happy smile that was not rather cruel for a change "I always thought that your body was far too normal for your mystic eyes of death perception" she informed Shiki "I'll guess I'll have to make you some equipment capable of grabbing spirits as payment" she said more to herself than to Shiki. Turning she saw another figure walking towards them. "Oh and what are you doing with all those cuts and bruises on you?" Touko asked knowing that Mal had not received them from this incident here.

"Just breaking someone's toys" Mal replied cryptically using the same explanation he had given Shiki "don't worry that old man had many more, though he is a little too old to playing with such things, not to mention that he is the wrong gender" the boy added nonchalantly.

"All right then" Touko replied "let's get back" she instructed "It' would mean trouble for us if we stay here" she explained. "Though I must ask where you left Fujino?" she asked noticing that Mal was alone and that the girl who this was all about was nowhere in sight.

"I had one of my familiars come and pick her up, she'll be at the hospital soon" Mal replied though he never mentioned which familiar that was. Mikiya had a feeling that he would rather not find out, what familiar Mal had been using though it must be a useful one at least.

"I see" Touko replied "lets go" she instructed as the four of them made their way back to her red car, Touko recognise the look Shiki was giving Mikiya. "Shiki" she addressed the girl don't kill him just because you couldn't kill Asagami" she stated with a short cruel laugh.

"Shiki" Mikiya began a little hesitant to get into this subject "can you still not forgive Fujino Asagami?" he asked. IT was a valid question as the reason she had said she would kill Fujino was because she could not forgive the act of slaughter that the girl had committed.

Shiki was silent at first but finally she answered him "I have no interest in someone who I have already killed" she replied "What about you?" She asked "You say murder is wrong no matter the reason may be" she had a point as to why Mikiya shouldn't forgive Fujino.

"Yeah" Mikiya answered agreeing with Shiki "But I can't help but feel for her" he explained. "To be honest, I don't feel anything about what happened to the people who attacked" he admitted, this surprised Shiki but then again Mikiya did not condone what they did to her.

"That's unexpected" Shiki admitted "I was hoping for your general opinion" she informed him a little unhappy that she had not gotten it but content enough with the answer that she had been given to not press the issue any further. So Shiki waited for Mikiya's to comment.

"Really?" Mikiya asked a little curious "but Shiki, even though she lost herself Fujino Asagami is a normal person with common sense" Mikiya informed her. "She'll be able to accept what she's done while not being able to gloss over the facts" he informed her. "The wound in her mind will never heal and continue to hurt her" Mikiya stated bluntly. "It will never heal, just like her sense of pain was remaining" he noted grimly. "In truth I believe that may be the reason why Mal saved her" Mikiya stated looking at who was also Mal in the car.

Mal saw and heard this so he smirked while letting out a small laugh "My motives were nothing like that" he informed Mikiya. "Even though what you said and what was left unsaid are good reasons to save her, I did so for another reason all together" the red haired boy he replied. Seeing that Mikiya was about to ask him what the reason was Mal simply said "like I would ever leave you informed of why I really take action" he told Mikiya. "Doesn't Shiki here not have things like common sense?" Mal asked. "Can you let a person like Shiki run free?" he challenged. Though Mal himself had a rather viscous grin the intent of the question itself was rather friendly. Most notably because no one was reacting to anything, as such Mal had not meant for any offence to be felt at his words otherwise he would have said so.

"I see" Mikiya replied knowing what Mal was hinting at "I guess it can't be helped" he stated. "If that is the case I'll bear all of your sins in your place" he said to Shiki. Who remained impassive during the talk between him and Mal, most likely content to remain silent.

"Now I remember" Shiki said with a sigh "You always joke about that stuff with a straight face" she said trying to give him the cold shoulder though secretly feeling elated that he had said something like that to her. "I confess Shiki had a hard time dealing with these jokes."

Mal gave a short laugh at that along with Mikiya and Touko. "I also must confess something" the red haired boy said "I realised that the thing I have been searching for will always be unobtainable for one such as my self" Mal informed them. Looking at his open palm the pre teen clenched it "however no matter how fragile or impossible it is that makes it all the more desirable for me to obtain" he stated. Looking at Shiki he asked "Are you sure that you want to depend on something as fragile as what you want?" clearly he had seen something.

"It may be vague and fragile" Shiki replied "But I'll have depend on it for now" she informed them. Turning to look at Mikiya she spoke again "It turns out what I am depending on isn't as ugly as I thought, I'm a little happy because of that" she confessed. "A slight" Shiki began "just a slight murderous impulse that is leaning towards you." Mikiya understanding what Shiki was really talking gave her a kind smile Shiki returned it with a caring one. Mal and Touko saw this and simply smirked at the sight of the two of them, two of them in love.

* * *

Elsewhere a certain Dead apostle who had decided to monitor the city smiled to herself as her familiar showed her all of the events that took place. "My my" Altrouge Brunestud said to herself "he really is quite interesting that one." brushing a hand through her long black hair that was caught in the wind the ninth of the twenty seven Dead Apostle ancestors looked at out into the storm an amused expression on her face "I knew he was different but to know that he is that different is rather refreshing" Altrouge stated. "Yes" she said to herself "I d believe I can make use of a person like him. Though I will have to make sure he is not making use of me to a greater extent when I am doing so."

* * *

Mal looked at Touko Aozaki and raised an eyebrow at what he had just heard her saw "can you please run that by me again?" he asked the Magus. "It's not that I didn't hear you I just am having a little trouble understanding the words spoken" the boy affirmed for the 'Red'.

"Oh" Touko replied "here I thought you would have liked the chance to see Kiritsugu again, then again this is probably your version of being excited" the sister of the 'Blue' stated. "We will be returning to Fuyuki City for a week or two" she repeated what She had first said. "I believe that you might enjoy the change of scenery and it will give you a better chance at engaging with people your age since you are usually cooped up here all the time" Touko informed him. In truth she wanted to get out for a bit as well, and Mal needed to get outside.

"That is untrue I interact with plenty of children my own age" Mal replied "just because they're dead and I am talking to their ghosts does not mean that I am not interacting with them" he explained. "Also isn't it not safe for you to go there at this point in time?" Mal asked.

"The Second owner of Fuyuki City is a child your age and has only just come back from Clocktower" Touko replied. "Most likely she will be too arrogant and confront either of us and then, she will realise her mistake too late." It seemed the 'Red' had very good contacts. "If worst comes to worst, and by that I mean any conflict with Kirei Kotomine, Shiki will deal with it" Touko informed Mal. Mikiya had started this whole affair and had to offer to come along, Shiki had no objections to this for some reason or another and had agreed to come.

Knwing there was no real point in arguing Mal sighed "fine" he said "however I'm bringing my stuff along with me." Secretly the boy was praying that a certain Tiger who had been born with a human body was still doing her studies in Tokyo so they didn't have to see her. Not that Mal disliked Taiga Fujimura, but sometimes the Tiger of Fuyuki was a little too much for him not to react in a violent fashion to. Last time he and Touko had visited the hug she gave him would have strangled a normal child suffocating them. It took all of Mal's willpower and goodwill not break out. Perhaps Kiritsugu would actually be here this time. Last time he had gone off soemwher, Germany is what Touko had said. Tryingto contact the Einzberns or something to do with them since they had hired him for the fourth Grail War.

That and Taiga might get herself killed if she did something like she usually does with Shiki around this time, Mal couldn't see the two really getting along that well, though Shiki might Surprise him, Taiga couldn't, he had her habits and she was now too predictable for him.

* * *

 **Yeah so this Arc is finally over, Ppck a God and praise them, I know who I'm praising but that is a secret. As with the thing going to Fuyuki I thought that the characters and myself deserve a break from this Kara no Kyoukai. No seriously if the next one drags on for as long as this did I will go insane, that or I will just take a break and write something else.**

 **Also to those of you who may not have realised this, the wounds Mal got from his off screen battle with Souren. Also that Souren was just a puppet so he is very much alive if you couldn't tell from What Mal said of it in this chapter and the last**

 **Anyways I hope you enjoyed this chapter if any of you have any feedback you would like to give or any ideas you would like to share please feel free to leave a review or PM me, though I would prefer it if you left a review as that would make it easier to sort and reference when writing the next chapter.**

 **Thanks for reading see you next time.**


	13. Chapter 12: Return to Fuyuki

**Yeah sorry guys for how long it took for this chapter to get out I am rather ashamed of how long it took, but I didn't know filler chapters were so hard, this chapter is just going to be a transition for the next arc, don't worry there are no clues as to it in this chapter I made sure of that. Still hopefully this will set the stage for the next one. As once that comes it will get easier to write again. Still the Trade fair has come an gone so my work has just tripled so I may not have much time to write. Anyways I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

" _As you go through life, the might current of society is bound to get in your way and there will certainly be times that things don't go as you'd hoped. When this happens, don't look to society for a cause. Do not renounce society. Frankly, you'd be wasting your time. Instead just say, "That's life!" and muddle your way through with frustration. Once you're past it, consider: If society's swift current is tossing you around, how should you be swimming there in it's midst. You should have learned how, here in the E class, in this assassination classroom. You don't always have to stand and face it head-on. You can run and you can hide. If it's not against the rules, you can try a sneak attack. You can use unconventional weapons. Stay determined - not impatient nor discouraged - and with repeated trial and error, you're bound to reach a splendid outcome eventually._ " -Korosensei, Assassination Classroom

* * *

"Mal kun" a tiger bellowed as it fiercely wrapped the boy in a bone crushing hug. "Why didn't you visit sooner this time?" the tiger that was born in a humans body demanded of him "your neechan missed you" Taiga explained still holding him in her bone crushing embrace.

"Tiger nee" Mal muttered under his breath. Not loud enough to be fully heard but loud enough for Taiga to recognise that he was talking to her. "while it is good to see you again after a few months do yourself a favour and put me down" the red haired boy instructed her.

Despite her antics said Taiga put the boy she viewed like her younger brother down if a little reluctantly.. "So Mal kun" Taiga began as she now noticed Shiki and Mikiya along side Touko "did you get a girlfriend why you were away" she teased looking at Shiki. "I'm hurt" Taiga continued "that you didn't share this with me" she explained "you fell in love with a beautiful girl but you didn't even right a letter to your neesan about it" looking at Mal with an expression of mock hurt she asked "why didn't you were you afraid I wouldn't approve?"

Looking the confused Shiki Ryougi up and down the tiger of Fuyuki gave a thoughtful sigh "I was really hooping you wouldn't get one until you were well into your teens" she told him "and I can't believe you like older woman, this one's a real cradle snatcher" she added.

Shiki herself was confused by this all of this "what?" she asked not expecting this despite the warning that Mal had given them as they came here. While she was like that Touko and Mikiya just laughed as it seemed that they knew that Taiga was just teasing Mal, Shiki didn't.

"Shiki neesan" Mal spoke to her "Taiga nee is just teasing you" he informed her while getting back at the tiger in his own way, it may have been petty but he decided to let the real nature of their relationship be known to Taiga, if only to see the young woman's reaction to it.

"What you got another neesan?" Taiga yelled in disbelief looking at Mal with betrayal written all across her features "Mal how could you" she asked, not even Touko was sure if the tiger was really heartbroken of if she was just making a fool out of herself, and possibly them.

"There is no need to worry" Mal replied "I could never replace my Tiger neesan" he informed her. Mikiya somehow got that his words held a double meaning but it seemed only he and Touko did, the girl was oblivious to the hidden barb as she wrapped the boy up in a hug.

Shiki looked at the scene in front of her "Well" the mystic eyes user began "he did say she was lively" Shiki stated referring to Taiga, in truth she did not know what to really expect of her fellow heiress but it seemed that this was definitely not on the list of things she had.

"I don't really get it" Mikiya confessed "but does it seem a little strange to you that Mal alternates between calling the girl her name and calling her a tiger?" her asked. Mikiya did not know of the peril he had just placed himself in. It was a good thing that Shiki was here.

Dropping Mal with a Roar very much akin to a tiger she had been referred to the Fujimura clan heiress looked about the room as if searching for prey "who said that?" she asked "who called me tiger, no one calls me tiger" well it seemed that Mal did but she put up with that.

"The way Mal says Taiga and tiger is almost the same" Touko whispered in Mikiya's ear."he has done it so often so that She can't tell the difference any more, that or she stopped caring some time ago" the 'Red' explained as they looked on at the Tiger of Fuyuki's antics.

"Well she sure is lively" Mikiya admitted noting that it wasn't such a bad thing, in fact he could have used a bit of non violent type of liveliness especially a cheerful kind of one like this "though do find myself asking if Mal's surrogate older sister is so lively, why is he?"

"That is a good question to ask, if you didn't know who his father was" Touko informed Mikiya "Though I must say that Mal is his own person only possessing a few of Kiritsugu's mannerisms and habits along with a few of my own" the 'Red' explained. "That and having a rather immature older sibling would quicken the mental growth of any child" she added. That was a half truth as being as distorted as Mal was when he survived the fire caused by the fourth Grail War he had become distorted, so Mal would have never been a normal child.

"This Kiritsugu person you spoke of" Shiki spoke addressing Touko "you have always referred to him as Mal's adoptive father, though we are here outside his house and he is not here to greet us and from the way the girl over there is acting he might not even be in the city." The way Shiki had said this was more akin to stating a fact, Touko and Mal both knew from the moment they arrived at the estate that Kiritsugu was not here, Shiki was only stating her observations. "So that makes me wonder where he is, as I was interested in meeting him.

"Dad and Grandpa said that Kiritusgu was going on a business trip to somewhere, I think it was Germany, but I didn't catch all of the details over the phone" Taiga supplied the information to them. "I was called to mind the estate while he was away as I was on my break." Taiga didn't tell them that she had volunteered when her grandfather Raiga had told her of this, the Yakuza boss was quite willing to leave a few of him men to mind the estate while the Magus Killer was away but his granddaughter had insisted that she be the one to mind it.

Mal had already summarised this as he knew Taiga had a crush on the Magus Killer and because he spoiled the girl as she looked like his first and only crush, a girl named Shirley who had died due to the experiments of Kiritsugu's father who was a known Sealing Designate. "Thank you Taiga nee" he informed the Tiger in human form "your help is most appreciated." Whether what the boy had just said was genuine or not was up for debate, it may have been but Mal's tone had been unreadable, either way Taiga took the words in with her stride.

"Thanks Mal kun" the Tiger of Fuyuki replied "I am rather excited that you decided to stop by as I missed you while I was studying." she explained. How a person like Taiga could study much less teach like she was studying for was a mystery, almost of the magical kind.

For a brief moment Mal entertained the thought that Gaia was behind this in a plot to remove humanity through the next generation losing their minds with a teacher like Taiga, as she would be more suited to a primary school than a high school, either that or it was Raiga. The Yakuza boss pulling strings for his favourite little tiger so that she could end up with the job she wanted. No doubt Taiga would end up at a school of her choice, most probably one that Mal would attend if he was going to go through the formal education system and all. " _I surely do pity any who are unfortunate enough to have Taiga as their teacher_ " he said to himself. On the outside Mal however gave the tiger words of encouragement "Just keep trying your hardest Tiger nee" he said "I am sure that you will get to that place, eventually."

Taiga didn't notice the subtle way that Mal had said the last word but Touko most definitely had. Chuckling to herself she patted Mal on the back "come on, you shouldn't be standing here much longer" she informed him "at the pace you are setting we will never get inside."

As they entered the estate the four of them found that it was in pristine condition, once again Mal suspected that Raiga may have had a hand in it. " _Would he be as generous if he knew that I had the Heiress of the Ryougi family with me?_ " the pre teen thought for a moment. After this Mal arrived at the conclusion that Raiga would be if only a bit more cautious, the two families did not have any bad blood between them but both were deeply rooted in Japan's criminal underworld. But they were not the sort that others believed them to be. If they were Mal knew tat he would have at least made the attempt to destroy them by now. While the pre teen was unsure if Shiki would attempt to stop him or not Mal was unsure if he could beat the mystic eyes user, though the boy had come with several theories on how he could.

* * *

After they had entered Mal decided to see how his 'project was doing, it had been a less than a handful of years since Mal had made his 'familiars' begin to work on it and while he had been able to view and direct the progress through them, the red head was eager to see it in person. Though Mal had briefly wondered why no one had noticed it yet, the boy did suppose the fact that he had positioned it underground to make full use of Fuyuki's leylines should attract unwanted attention but so far none had bothered to come forth and put a stop to it. Not that Mal would oblige them, he fully intended on crushing any fool who stood in his way, be they magus, dead apostle, true ancestor, wielder of True Magic or otherwise. Mal did not intend to show any of them mercy, and this place, his workshop is where it will begin.

Entering the basement he found Touko looking over some of the tools that he had there, this was the place where he had first started to practice his craft, this makeshift workshop and Mal had seen fit not move anything. The temperature was the same way it was when he had left it, cool enough to be almost cold but not cold enough to fully freeze. "I never did come here before" Touko Aozaki commented idly or at least she appeared to, I must say that you are a not a traditional magus, in truth I already knew, but this place confirms it." the 'Red' was referring to his usage of modern tools, something that most of the moonlit world despised as it robbed them of the advantages their craft gave them, lowering the value of magic as a whole. As such what once only they had easily available to the masses, and for that reason they despised the modern age and did not make use or advantage of it. In truth Mal thought them to be true fools for such things, tying themselves down in worthless tradition born of jealousy and tying their life to the distant past rather than embrace the future ahead.

"I have said before that only a fool does not make use of what is available" Mal replied "I am one who will refuse to follow any tradition that ties me down with no actual benefits" the boy explained. "let them call me heretic, at the end of the day it is I who will be the victor."

Touko herself as a Sealing designate had learnt not to be a traditional Magus so she hummed in approval. "And at the end of the day, the one who is the victor is the one who will write history" she finished for him a smile of approval and amusement playing upon her' lips.

"Are you here to see this?" Mal asked looking around the basement "or are you here to see the workshop I have been building?" Mal asked. He remembered that Touko had advised him against this, but he had done so anyway as it was too good to actually pass by for the boy.

"I do recall advising specifically against this type of action" Touko said thoughtfully twirling her glasses in her hand. "I suppose that I am also interested to see how it is turning out to be" the 'Red' admitted. "As if it is indeed what you desired it be it would be useful place."

Mal knew what she meant by that, As a Sealing Designate Touko would have to avoid certain people so she didn't get captured and used as study material. Still she would use her sister Aoko's name to get money from said association as a form of revenge against her sister was rather important to the 'Red'. More important than her continued survival it seemed, but Mal couldn't fault her for that, while the boy had no ill will towards the 'Blue' Mal felt he could empathise with Touko for losing what she had. Though he was not wholly sure why.

Still if this rather large and intricate workshop Mal had built worked the way it should he would not just have a workshop but a fortress, Touko could see the use of something like that if only as a place for her to lay low for a while after she had stirred some form of trouble. Mal grunted by way of response as he walked to what seemed to be an unassuming door, one that did not lead anywhere in general. "Fine" the boy said at last as Touko followed him down the set of stairs into the darkness. "while it has been built, I haven't fully completed it." the pre teen informed his maternal figure as they walked down to his pyramid "It has yet to be connected so the electricity is not working just yet" he explained earning a chuckle from Touko. "So it may be a little dark, but that is not really problem for either of us is it?"

"I don't believe so Touko said taking out her lighter, despite the fact that it was pitch black she was able to feel the glance Mal shot her. "Relax" the 'Red' instructed "I am only doing it to get a little light." she explained as he handed her something. "a torch?" Touko asked as she turned on the electrical torch and looked down the stairs at her surrogate son and pupil. "How thoughtful" she stated "though I must ask whether you intend to show Shiki or Mikiya this workshop of yours" the 'Red' mused as she looked at all the black stone around her.

"Later, perhaps" was the reply Mal gave her "though they would have to ask me first," Mal explained "otherwise I will be content to leave them in the dark about his, so to speak." Touko got the joke the pre teen had made and smirked at the boy's morbid sense of humour.

* * *

"There can only be one" the Tiger of Fuyuki declared finally after looking at Shiki for a good fifteen minutes. Shiki had known the other girls attention was on her but hadn't responded as Taiga's attention was irrelevant to the mystic eyes user. So she had no idea what the other young woman was talking about, instead opting to look at said tiger with a look of mild confusion. "Don't act innocent and all that" Taiga growled giving Shiki and Mikyia the impression of an actual tiger "you are trying to be Mal kun's older sister as well" she accused.

" _Christ_ " Shiki swore under her breathe " _she is almost as bad as Azaka" sharing_ a brief glance with Mikiya showed that he had thought the same thing as well. "What are you talking about?" Shiki finally asked, sure Mal was akin to a rather annoying little brother but that still didn't explain why Taiga was so worked up about it. More importantly why was any of this important. Feeling the need to voice that last thought Shiki voiced it "I don't see the problem with Mal or myself" she informed Taiga who fumed at what Shiki had just said to her.

The tiger was fuming and one could almost picture steam coming out of her ears like that of steam train, strange it was nothing like any tiger the knew but it would do. "You even use his name without the right honorific" Taiga shouted "you" she began "you cradle snatcher!"

"What!" Mikiya exclaimed unsure of how Taiga had reached that conclusion, Mal was the kind of person tht preferred those who were close to him only to use just his name without any 'add ons that make things far more complex than they need be' as the boy had put it. More importantly Mikiya was very much aware that Shiki had no interest in Mal like that, even Azaka would find the thought rather ill placed. "Why on earth would you assume that Mal and Shiki are in that kind of relationship?" he was finally able to bring himself to ask.

The Tiger's fury was now directed at the human with impaired eyesight "what do you of this" Taiga demanded, it was easy to picture her frothing at the mouth like an enrage animal. Also the look she shot Mikiya was very much of the predatory kind, it made his skin crawl.

Despite that sensation Mikiya brought himself to speak with relative ease not even once showing any his discomfort. "Shiki here views Mal as a little brother who one must keep an eye on otherwise he will get up to all sorts of mischief and trouble for everyone as a whole." Before Taiga could pounce on what he said and figuratively tear him apart and then eat him like a real tiger would Mikiya added "also could you please explain to both of us why you are so worked up over this whole thing, I am afraid that neither of us here understands."

The predatory look was still in the Tiger's eyes but she refrained from mauling anyone yet, a good thing to or Shiki might have had to get involved. "Very well then" Taiga replied "I am Mal kun's Oneechan" she declared with her chest puffed out in pride for some reason.

Shiki and Mikiya shared a look and then both shrugged "okay" the mystic eyes user said and went back to reading the notebook she had, it was one of Mal's with theories on how she might better make use of her eyes in case there were opponents who didn't die that easily.

"What!" the Tiger exclaimed in shock at her rival's other young girl's behaviour at these words, Taiga had not yet know that not many people was like her, she had assumed that despite the attire Shiki wore due her tomboyish attitude that the girl was trying to take her place.

"You are Mal's older sister" Shiki informed her "I see no reason how that should be a source of friction between us" the mystic eyes user informed her "more importantly I still don't see how this is a big deal, it is not like he went and tried to replace you, or anything like that" she explained. "While both of us can admit that he is somewhat strange not to mention rather dark for a boy his age, I have to say there are some things he possess that makes him endearing to others, I have the role of an older sister to him but mine is different to yours."

Taiga's mind was working rapidly unfortunately it went to fast for the poor tiger to handle so she fell down due to an overload of information. Leaving Mikiya bad Shiki looking at her unconscious form. "Well" Mikiya began "I guess it is not okay for us to leave her like that."

Shiki grunted and returned to reading after seeing that the other girl was not in any danger "your too nice" she scolded but didn't do anything to actually prevent Mikiya from moving Taiga to a more comfortable position and giving her a pillow for the tiger to rest her head on.

After ensuring that Taiga was comfortable enough that she wouldn't be sore when she woke up Mikiya rose from where he had been crouched, the youth even heard Taiga snoring so he knew she would be alright. "Maybe I am" he admitted "But would I be me if I was not?"

This got Shiki to look at him from where she was sitting, closing the book she fixed her boyfriend with a rather stern and cold glare, finally the glare softened and Shiki gave a kind but small smile "I guess you wouldn't" the girl admitted before returning to her reading.

Mikiya looked around as he like Shiki had noticed the absence of two if them "knowing Mal and Touko they are probably off somewhere in the city that or the boy has made some secret base that he is giving Touko a tour of" That last part held more truth to it that he knew.

* * *

Mal decided to go for a walk that afternoon and see how much Fuyuki had changed since he had left, in truth it was growing however the place where the Emiya residence was, still had little in the way of houses as the estates were rather large. Mal decided to go to a place that had a larger population part of him eager to find some wrong to right or at least stop. The bitterness at Fujino's betrayal of his good faith was a thing he had yet to let go of, if he ever did. Still the pre teen had saved her instead of leaving her to die or killing her himself. Mal came around a familiar park, the one near where he had taken his fit human kills all those few years ago, he found it strange that despite it being less than half a decade ago it felt like it might have been a lifetime. Briefly Mal wondered what had happened to the two he had saved, he then recalled something that he had neglected to do at the time, which was erasing their memories or hypnotising the two to forget him. That did make him wonder if they would recall what he looked like, though given the way children were they may not have.

Mal's rather acute senses picked up something that he did not agree with. The sound of of human flesh being bruised. Looking up he saw what was a violet haired girl being beaten by some boy his age or a little older, what offended Mal the most was that she was not even trying to stop them, only cushioning the impact that the blows had on her by raising her arms weakly in a show of token defiance or not even that. The sense of deja vu was strong and Mal believed that if this happened at this place a third time then this park needed to be burnt down. Picking up several stones Mal decided to try a different approach to saving the girl, from hat he could sense she was some sort of Magus, though why she had so many foreign substances in her body that were alive was beyond him. It was then that Mal realised what the foreign bodies were, it was the small familiar heh ad first revived after killing or they were of the same brood, why she was infected with them he did not know, but Mal knew that now there where two different things he had to deal with, the teens needed to be dealt with

They were an affront to the path he had chosen, their actions a reason of why he should continue down it, even though Mal knew that it was one that would lead him most likely to self destruction at best. Deciding that killing them should be the last option he decided on his approach. Tossing a stone a few times in the air to gain a measure if it while using structural grasp to understand it completely Mal spied the youth that was most likely the muscle of the group. Picking a place where he could cause the most pain without killing incapacitating the target Mal tossed the stone at a safe speeds making it land dead centre on the boys, enough to sting as well as gather his and his fellows attention if the way he yelped when the blow had hit was any indicator. Seeing he had their attention Mal allowed himself a smile.

* * *

Sakura Matou did not know what she had done to garner the wrath of these five boys, all she knew was that if she didn't get home soon for her _training_ her _grandfather_ , would be displeased and let her _brother_ punish her, again. She had weathered the boys blows for some time now but now she was on the ground being kicked in turns by them, it was good that they had not tried to rape her, they weren't that low but perhaps they would be more surprised to learn that she was 'damaged goods'. Suddenly the blows stopped as one of them yelped.

Slowly looking up Sakura saw a boy with red hair of her age or perhaps a year older looking at them, a stone in his right hand while he held more against his chest in his left one. He had and amused smirk on his face, but Sakura saw that it didn't reach his amber eyes. Said amber eyes were filled with rage or disgust, but it all felt rather hollow, empty so to speak like it was more forced than anything else. "What the hell do you think your playing at" the leader of the group asked, it was clear that he was not pleased with this interruption.

The Boy only raised an eyebrow "didn't you know" he spoke as if the other boy had not "that a few years ago in this park a group of delinquents were murdered?" he asked though Sakura could feel that it was rhetorical, also she wondered why this boy seemed familiar.

Then the memory struck her, it was when She was in school before she lived with her grandfather, there was a boy who was practising high jumps there, but could never make it, despite that he never did give up, the question was what was he doing here above all places.

The other boys murmured as they had heard rumours of it, though the news had confirmed that some youths had been murdered near here a few years back. "I see you know of it" the boy commented. "did you by any chance know what they were doing?" he asked them. Now that smirk became a smile that if Sakura didn't not know better she would have said it was genuine, at the same time he smiled the boy closed his eyes as if recalling a fond memory "They were threatening a girl and her younger brother, both of whom were not even ten years old" he explained. It became clear that now he was frightening the other boys with this story, but how did he know about it Sakura wondered The culprit for that was never caught and the bodies never found, though there were some blood soaked stones in the area of it.

Sakura felt her eyes widen a fraction as she realised what was in the boys hands, stones. Was it possible for him to have been the culprit or was he just trying to scare the boys away, from what she saw of him, the boy was no ordinary child, he was in a sense like her.

This made it possible for him to have been the culprit as he was alluding to with his next words "Now imagine my surprise when I come back here after a few years to see a similar scene playing out?" he requested with a benevolent smile that chilled the other boys to their bones. "Imagine how wrathful I must feel to come upon a similar scene that fills me with disgust again. Now the stone in his right hand that he was tossing up and down in a playful manner stated to look menacing "I think it's best to remind your kind of it" thee boy stated as he opened his eyes. Now they truly were a contrast to the benign smile he wore, in the amber eyes Sakura saw the pain the had been inflicted on her promised ten fold to each of her tormentors. It was something she could barely look at even after what she had gone through.

If Sakura could barely stand it then the other boys had no chance they upped and ran off without a word between them as they tried to push past each other to escape. "And here I thought they would stay" the boy stated with something akin to disenchantment in his voice. The red haired boys gaze fell on Sakura and she found herself flinching underneath the merciless stare, then that gaze softened into one of concern walking up to her the boy knelt down and gave her his hand "you have been hurt in many ways" he informed her, the boys voice soft and reassuring yet holding a measure of command in it that shouldn't have been in the voice of a boy not even into his teens. "Come with me" the boy instructed as his outstretched hand remained there waiting for it to be taken by her. "I will help you, and ease your pain."

Finally despite that it would mean that she would get into trouble with her _grandfather_ and _brother_ Sakura Matou took the hand the of the oby who had helped her. "Sakura" she stammered a little shy and tired "Matou Sakura" she introduced herself using her name.

Pulling her up onto her feet and giving her his shoulder to lean on the boy looked her in the eyes "that is a nice name" he said as he began to help her walk to wherever he lived. "I am Emiya Malekith" he introduced himself "but I prefer being called Mal" he informed her as he began to walk.

* * *

 **So yeah Mal and Sakura finally meet, just to let you know, in case you didn't already figure it out, this will be a more unorthodox version of Shirou and Sakura, given the difference between Shirou and Mal that is. Anyways with this out of the way I will be getting to the next arc, Since some of you will wonder what it is I'll give you a hint it has something to do with a girl with white hair and red eyes who is Kiritsugu's daughter, the rest is up to you to imagine please feel free to share those ideas if you have any.**

 **Anyways thanks for reading if you have any ideas you would like to share or any form of feedback that you would like to give please leave a review or PM me, though as always I would prefer it if you left a review as iti si easier to sort that way and is easier for me to reference when I am writing the next chapter, feedback is useful as long as you are willing to go into ideas you want to share, until next time.**


	14. Chapter 13: Why?

**Yeah guys sorry for the late update just that I had to work rather hard just to get this one done, hopefully the rest will be easier now that I have some of the harder parts done, still shit this is taking long, looks like this will at least take two to three more chapters, though if my E rank Luck (I roll far too many ones in DnD for it to be anything else)is feeling generous I may be able to get it done in one. Still thank you to all of you who reviewed I was nice thanks for that. Still I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

" _There is no such thing as "truth" or "lies" in this world; there never has been. There are only plain, hard facts. And yet, all beings who exist in this world acknowledge only those "facts" that are convenient to them, and take them to be the "truth". They do so because they know no other way of living. However, for those powerless beings who comprise the majority of this world's population, inconvenient facts that affirm their very existence, are their only truth._ " -Aizen Sousuke, Bleach

* * *

A regular child's mind is an immature one, the child does not possess a firm resolve nor does the child have the strength to turn their grief into anger or hatred. When a child is confronted with a cruel fate they ware not presented with the choice of having a will of iron. More importantly, since they have not yet lived through and been able to understand life, concepts such as honour and hope have yet to be completely nurtured in them. As a result, in moments of despair children are more prone than adults are to seal away their own mind and lock up their own heart. This is down because they had yet to taste the joys of life so they can afford to discard that which they do not know and they can do so with ease. This is due to the fact that they have not grasped the meaning of the future, that they can sink into despair.

Such was the case for Sakura, at a tender age she was given away by he father to another family, there was an agreement between her father and the head of that family that neither she nor her sister would speak or interact with each other after this had occurred. On her first day as a Matou their head an aged and wizened man who called himself Zouken had taken her to their cellar where he had placed her in the pits that contained his familiars known as the crest worms. Sakura for her part screamed for three whole days at the start as the crest worm crawled inside her through any possible entrance, it was by the third day that she had lost all feeling and was then completely silent. Over the first year what she was forced to go through changed the little girl. Not only in the mental sense but also in the physical. When she had been born her had been brown and her eyes blue like her sisters, now she had lavender coloured hair and eyes, though what unnerved some people about her eyes was the fact they lacked pupils and how blank and empty they were if one were to gazed into them.

Kindness was not a thing that she had been shown after she was given to the Matou's in fact the Sakura could barely remember anyone else beside Kariya her Ojisan, uncle and the girl had seen the crest worms eat him alive as a result for trying to defy Zouken's wishes. Sakura was used to being bullied her foster brother Shinji was rather abusive, he beat, insulted and raped her. Though the latter was done on the orders of their grandfather and Shinji had no spine at all, especially when it came to dealing with Zouken.. So what this boy, this Emiya Malekith had done and was doing for her was almost if not wholly alien to the girl, given the fact that Kariya had died almost five years prior which meant that it had been a rather long time since anyone had tried to help her, much less succeed with their first attempt.

As they walked Sakura took the chance to observe Mal as he liked to be called. At first there seemed to nothing out of the ordinary but Sakura despite what had happened to her or most likely because of it was able to tell that their was something more to him. Sakura herself was not sure what she was feeling but the sensation that came from him felt too mature for him to be a boy her age or just a year or two older, but that was no all oft it, there was something more to Mal, it was behind those amber eyes or in them, the merciless glare that made the gaze Zouken had feel kind. Eyes that did not belong to a child, similar to her own yet different, these eyes were not blank. Recalling the reaction Mal had when the youths had chosen to flee Sakura realised that he had wanted them to stay so he could face them. If she were a normal child or even an adult Sakura would have felt a cold chill run up her spine, but fortunately Sakura had closed herself off so she didn't feel it as she realised that Mal had wanted to kill those people. For what reason she did not know, but she knew it was true.

"Studying me are you?" the question was asked. Sakura did not realise that Mal was aware of the motive of her staring nor had she realised that he had been doing the same to here, though discreetly so she would not notice. "Did you see something I did not?" he asked.

Looking to the side Sakura found hat she did not have an answer to that and tried to come up with a reply "Ojiisan would be upset if I am late" she informed Mal "he does not like it if I am late to training and will punish me if he desires it" Sakura explained, it was the truth.

"Is this the same Ojiisan that left you to fend for yourself instead of caring for you when you were being attacked?" he asked though it was more akin to statement. "If he values you so highly then he should at least ensure that you are not left alone" Mal stated looking at her.

Sakura felt there was almost a calculative edge to those amber eyes for a moment but it was gone as quickly as it came. "He" Sakura began unsure if she should be saying this or not "he let Niisan take me out today, but Niisan left saying he had something urgent to do" she stated. In truth this was a form of training which Zouken had take to using, for some reason he wanted to keep her docile and not anything else, most likely that she would continue to obey him. Though Sakura would not tell Mal that, he shouldn't know about such a thing.

Mal's gazed hardened as she said this and Sakura realised that she had made a mistake, it seemed that Mal was taking offence to this for some reason "and where is this worthless piece of trash that you refer to as your brother?" he asked his voice level but with an edge.

Sakura's eyes widened as she believed that Mal would go to hurt her brother Shinji she was only partially correct, Mal was going to do a whole lot more than just hurt the Matou, if he discovered the other things that Shinji did, well Mal had invented knew ways fr people to suffer for such crimes and if he ever found out about Shinji's crimes he would be making the Matou howl for a long time before he gave him the release of death, that was if he didn't have some other plans for what to do with Shinji's soul as Emiya Malekith was rarely the kind of person to forgive and he was not one to ever forget. Sakura did not know these things about him, she did not know how easily cruelty to ones foes came to him nor did she know of how easily he had no regard human life and had to actively try and have some at times.

Not knowing a thing about Mal, except what she had seen from his brief interaction with the youths and her small if not tiny study of him Sakura opened her mouth "why?" was all that came out as she did not have much else to ask nor did she know what else she could ask.

Mal turned to regard her his eyes holding concern and care that Sakura recognised was for meant her but there was a rage and anger that was aimed most likely at her 'family' in general for what had occurred here. "Why you ask" the red haired boy replied his eyes now for a brief moment showing something akin to amusement at her "why not?" he asked. Sakura had no answer and could not think of a reason as to why he shouldn't hurt them, in fact it was the opposite "strange" Mal spoke "no one has an answer to that question" he informed her.

* * *

Touko Aozaki, the Sealing Designate known as the infamous Puppet Master and the 'Red' sighed as Mal entered the house with the girl. If this was Mikiya who had done this she would just scold him on being too nice like Shiki would and ask him what he planned to do, in most cases her employee rarely had made anything that resembled a plan when he did this more so doing it on impulse. The real problem was that it was Mal who had helped this girl and had brought her here, now while Mal could fool others into thinking that he was a sweet and kind boy, her pupil was anything but too nice. Sure he may have just saved a girl from a group of bullies but Touko knew that this was more of a selfish desire to imitate the results of what he saw when the Magus Killer saved him, more to the point Mal was aware of it as well, he just didn't care about it. The boy was not Mikiya who would help someone without a plan nor was he Shiki who relied solely on on her instincts, Mal had come here and had some design or a sort for this girl, though hopefully they weren't too dark even for herself.

While some would have viewed some of Mal's habits as eight grader syndrome as it was now called, a phase most children go through when they become teen, the problem with Mal was that the boy was in fact genuine. Shiki was not a wholly good influence on him, though many of these traits he had were there before he knew Shiki, meeting her and being like a younger sibling to the woman only made them seem to be more pronounced. That and if he had brought her here Emiya must intend to aid here in some way that requires his magecraft.

The 'Red' had to suppress a sigh, said magecraft was at times borderline True Magic which gave her no ends of headaches. It was unique if one were to describe it, though it would be highly coveted in the Moonlit World, the possibilities he could add to the Magic Crest were near endless. Though most of the Mage's Association would consider him a heretic the boy's skills would make him highly sought after if only to produce and heir to see if it is an inherited trait. That aside unlike Mikiya her pupil was 'never too nice'. Mal may be pleasant enough or even rather welcoming at times, but never too nice, the boy was far too clever for that. As such Touko finally decided that she needed to know the exact motive as to why he had chosen to help this girl, it may be pure but his methods will be anything but pure.

Lighting a cigarette Touko got up from the room she was currently sitting in and walked to the door as Mal arrived with the girl, the boy most likely knew that she was watching him because she worried about the boy, he most likely would ask for her opinion on this subject.

After all if Mal had not desired at least some of her insight and input he would have removed the familiar the 'Red' had in place or more likely obscured it's view as her pupil was not one to take to waste lightly, still Touko knew that she would have to see the girl herself first. And once again knowing Mal well enough having no small part in raising the boy, Touko knew that there must be more to this girl than a victim of bullying, her hair and eyes were and obvious indication of magecraft. So there must be more to her which Mal saw in person.

* * *

"Is this were you live?" Sakura asked looking at the traditional looking estate. The key word about the estate was that it looked like a Japanese estate, upon a closer look, Sakura noticed that it was not really made out of wood but well crafted stone. This meant that the house design was not open to the outside so mana could not be readily lost, which in turn made it ideal for a Magus to live here. Though the girl did think it strange as there were supposed to be no other Magi in Fuyuki, at least none were registered with the City's Second Owner to her knowledge and while the Matou head was rather secretive, he would have at least made a passing remark about their being new magi in the city as there would be no reason to conceal such a thing from the girl or her brother. Though there was no reason not to either.

Walking up to the big wooden gate of the residence Mal fished into his pocket for a key which he used to unlock the massive wooden gate. The gate creaked open, but not too loud that anyone else could hear it. Looking at Sakura, Mal extended his hand once more, though this time it seemed less of a gesture for her to take it and follow him, this one was more of a welcoming as well as a giving of aid, given this is where he was may live, the red haired boy may or may have may not have, Sakura for her part just nodded and stepped forward.

"Well" Mal finally spoke as the two of them walked into the estate and the gates creaked behind them as they were shut "home sweet home" the boy said, though Sakura felt as though the boy was more like quoting the words than actually saying them. "Lets get inside shall we" it was statement not a question. "It may not get dark for a while but I believe we should get inside and get something to eat." The Boy then lead her along the path to the house. Sakura took not of the building and saw that her earlier assumptions about it were correct.

The door was opened by a woman with red hair and dark brown eyes hat were almost red as well. "Well Mal" she spoke in a voice that told Sakura she was rather dangerous "it's not like you to pick up strays" the woman stated "you're the type to help the patch up the wound on the stray dog and then leave it" the red haired woman said revealing something about Mal's character. "Unlike a friend of ours you would never bring them home unless you were of the mind that they needed to be brought here, so is there something I should know?" she asked. While Sakura noted that from the way she spoke was a little similar to the way Zouken did, it was not the mannerisms or the voice or tone, but the feeling she gave off. Yet it seemed Mal was either oblivious to it or just ignoring it, though he could be not affected by it.

"Yes Touko san" the red haired boy answered in a matter of fact fashion "though I believe this is a subject that is best said when we are inside. perhaps over something to drink water, tea, coffee, lemonade, other than that I'm afraid we don't have much else" he said to them.

"I'll trust your judgement on that one" Touko said viewing Sakura with a critical eye that made the girl feel like she was scrutinising every surface of her. If Sakura was a normal child she would have been averse to being undressed by someone's eyes, but she was not normal. The fact that the girl only stared blankly back at her told Touko that there was something wrong with her, something that was by no means natural. "Well" the 'Red' began "at least you brought home a cute one" she said surprising Sakura at what had just been spoken then.

"Your hobbies aside" Mal said dryly clearly not approving of what she had said as they walked in "are you going to answer my question?" he asked. All he received was a knowing smile from Touko. Sighing the boy said "I'll go heat up the water, don't do anything just yet."

Sakura looked at the woman as the two of them sat down in the room together as Mal went to heat up water, presumably for either tea or coffer, the woman Touko had not been specific but it seemed that Mal knew what she was wanting in any case, deciding to speak up Sakura came to the decision that she wanted to know who this woman was and her relationship with Mal, if only to know what the woman was doing here and why she herself had been brought to the estate by Mal. "Are you his mother?" Sakura asked before she recalled the way Mal had greeted her, instead of referring to her as Ka san, mother or anything else related to the word mother. That or he had a bad relationship with her though given their interaction that did not seem to be the case. In any case she felt foolish about what she had asked, while Touko and Mal's hair was read, her hair was more like a dark brownish red while Mal's was an orange like one. That and the fact that upon a closer inspection the two of them looked nothing alike. Still it was not something that most would notice or care about really.

Touko for her part laughed in good humour "It' the hair isn't it?" she asked though the question was rhetorical. "Suffice to say I did not bring Mal into the world, that and I have never brought any child into the world" Touko stated. "Though if you were to ask as to the nature of our relationship, I would have to say that I am his mentor." This was a little surprising to Sakura as she instinctively thought that the two of them were Magi "Though I suppose in a way I am the only thing he has that is closest to a maternal figure" Touko informed her.

"Closest?" Sakura said quietly, was Touko saying that Mal did not know who his parents were, was he an orphan? These thoughts and more were going through the girls head when she heard that last part. Then it clicked for her Zouken may have been cruel in his training but even he saw the wisdom telling Sakura the types of people she should always attempt to avoid as a Magus. "Touko" the girl began as the woman's identity dawned on her "as in Touko Aozaki the Puppet Master?" she asked wondering if what she had just said was true or not.

"It seems that you have a rather good head on your shoulders girl" the 'Red' stated with a smile, there was nothing kind in that gesture though there was some measure of approval in it. "If you had called me by a few of my other titles I may have had to kill you" she informed Sakura. The story of the Aozaki sisters was well known enough in the moonlit world that the one who wielded the fifth magic was called 'the blue' while the older sister was known as 'the red' or if you wanted to be insulted, the dirty red or disgraced scarlet. Touko had just made it clear that calling her either of those two would result in her untimely demise, not that Sakura cared any more, or at least she believed that she didn't care. "In either case I'm sure you know that Mal being my pupil means" Touko stated as Mal walked into the room.

"I brought Sakura here so that I could help her" Mal stated bluntly "not so that you could attempt to scare her as you undress her with your eyes." This got an amused chuckle from Touko which confused Sakura as she thought that Mal was bad mouthing the 'Red' just then.

Seeing her confusion Touko decided to explain to Sakura "He was not insulting me" she told the purple haired girl "Mal here was just stating what I was actually doing" Touko informed her "though that was only part of it, the rest he knows does not need to be spoken aloud."

"I am not sure that makes it any better" Mal said as he sat down and handed Touko an orange mug that was filled with tea "in fact saying that would normally make things worse." Mal then gave Sakura a mug which the girl meekly accepted and began to sip the drink slowly.

"Familiars" Touko said suddenly causing Sakura to freeze up while Mal's eyes narrowed in in interest. "Sakura here already knows this since it did happen to her, but her body is infested with them, they are like a nerves now or even a set of Magic Circuits" the 'Red' stated.

For some reason Sakura felt a chill run through her normally cold body, these people knew about what Zouken had done to her. What were they going to do. Sakura was not too well versed in the laws of Magi other than the main one that is so she didn't know how to react.

"The question is not 'how we will react'" Mal stated as he placed his hand on her shoulder in a comforting way while he used his ability with structural grasp to see everything about her "but more akin to what the reaction of the Magus responsible for this will be" he informed her. Looking at the girl Mal retracted his arm from her shoulder "it seems that there is a rather powerful one next to your heart, they seem to serve as something of a restraint, devouring your mana and feeding off of it" Mal summarised causing Sakura to wince at this. He then glanced sideways at Touko who gave an amused smile and nodded "If" Mal began "if you so desire I could help by removing these familiars from your body and reverse the damage they have caused." Mal informed Sakura extending his hand out to her for the girl to take it.

Sakura stared at the outstretched hand not knowing how to react. Despite the concern that he had the boy's eyes were rather empty. Grandfather would not be too happy about this, but then again he was only pleased when others were in pain. Finally Sakra looked Mal in the eye "why?" she asked, unlike when the two of them were walking to this residence this time Sakura asked it because this was the right question to ask. "Why are you offering to help me" she asked "since Ojisan, defied Ojiisan and died, no one has been kind or even tried to."

Anger, hatred and disgust flashed in Mal's amber eyes at hearing this, but not long enough for it to be noticed by anyone save Touko who just chuckled to herself amused at all of this. "Do you want to here just one of my reasons or all of them?" Sakura simply nodded. Taking this to be the latter than the former "you see" Mal began "a while back in Fuyuki there was a great fire" he explained "now in that fire was a boy who despite the flames, despite the destruction that was all around him, stubbornly moved forward with only a single intention. To survive." Mal spaused for brief moment to let Sakura digest this information and come to her own conclusion about it. If she to the conclusion that he was a survivor of the Fuyuki fire or if she didn't was of no consequence to him. "Now you see, no amount of willpower even if it is endless could help that boy, for you see at one point despite everything he fell down and was not able to rise." Seeing that Sakura was not fully grasping the story Mal decided to continue "It just so happened that as the boy lay there close to death's door, if not already being lead in by him in wake of the fire was found by a man who had been searching for survivors." It seemed that the girl finally understood that the story did not end there. "Just so you know the boy had awoken at that point with no memory of who he was, all of that was taken form him in the fire and the first thing that he saw was a man with dark hair smiling with relief at him as he picked the boy up and carried him to the hospital for medical treatment." Mal stopped for a moment as he took a deep breath and sighed "Now the smile was not the one a person who was saving people would give. No the smile was more like as if it had been the man who was saved and not the boy, As the boy drifted off to sleep he had a new thought 'could I smile like that?'" With that Mal finished explaining his first reason.

The boy waited for Sakura to fully digest the information he had given her, when she had the girl asked Mal "Did you ever smile like that?" It was an innocent question with no malice yet for Mal it might as well have been a slap in the face "Are you able to smile like that?"

Mal looked at Sakura before he gave her what appeared to be a sad and almost tied smile. "No" Mal replied shaking his head "not matter how many times I try, that one thing will always elude me" he explained "it is not in my nature to be empathetic, yet I try in any case."

"Then why?' Sakura began not understanding Mal, then again not even Touko fully know the boy that well and she had the best grasp on his nature. "Why do you try to help people when you know you will never get what you want from it" to Sakura it didn't make sense.

Mal smirked then at her "I could give you a rant about how I will take what I want even if it is not possible. That I would deny fate and the laws of the universe for what I desire, but I will not." Mal then looked at Sakura as he spoke once more "Why you say" he commented before Mal let out a dark chuckle "why not?" he asked her again like before when he has Sakura had no answer to this question "funny, no one ever seems to have an answer to that." After this had been said Sakura reached out shakily and then firmly clasped the outstretched hand.

* * *

 **Yeah I seem to be rather good at making ending scenes before I actually intend to end the chapter that made me think why the hell am I doing this is my life fucking with me? Turns out it is. But enough of that As you can see Sakura and Mal have met and he has offerred to rid her of Zouken's Crest worms which given his skills I say he is rather well equipped to deal with. IF worst comes to worst Mal will simply make her another body with Touko though he also adept at that just not to her level and then place Sakura inside it. Needless to say she is not going back to the Matou residence in a long time and Shinji, well I'll leave that up to your imagination, but if you have any suggestion on how to be creative in his torture, I mean punishment then please do tell. I have several ideas but that is spoilers. Though there is something to do with feeding Shinji his own balls or carving out one of his eyes and then eating it in front of the shit. But that is just two fish in the ocean.**

 **Also that part with Touko flirting with Sakura, please not that one of Touko things to do when she gets into a knew body is _hunt_ for cute looking girls. Also she had the trope Bi The Way (shivers)**

 **So anyways if there is anything you would like to say, say like any ideas you want to share or any feedback you would like to give feel free to leave a review or PM me. Though I would rather prefer it if you left a review over PM me as it would be easier to reference ans sort that when I am writing the next chapter.**

 **Anyways I hope you enjoyed this chapter until next time**

 **Also I am thinking of posting up a quest on the Sufficient Velocity Forum that is loosely based of this. Let me know what you think of that idea as well.**


	15. Chapter 14: Fixing the Broken Flower

**So yeah sorry for the lateness in releasing this new Chapter I was kind of caught up in the Quest that I was writing at sufficientvelocity forums, If you want to check that out it is calle Fate/Rebith similar to this one but still in the early stages, Anyways onto the Chapter I was finally able to write this so I hope you enjoy.**

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" _We humans are miserable creatures. We reject what we fear. We attack because we don' t understand. Human cowardice, breeds war._ "-Biba Amatori, Koutetsujou no Kabaneri

* * *

"What" Azaka screamed in horror as she heard what her uncle Daisuke had just told her. "What do you mean Shiki and Mikiya both went out with Mal and Touko Sensei?" she all but shouted in demand for an answer. While an observer would say that she was blowing things out of proportion, the average bystander didn't know that Azaka had desired to be more than just a sister to her older brother Mikiya, who either was oblivious to them or refused to return those feelings for a very good reason, in short it was best if you didn't know the reason.

Daisuke who while he knew about her desires didn't support it, but didn't it them either was rather tired that day given his job and his interactions with Touko he sometimes had to clean up some messes she felt were unsavoury, so he was little more tired than usual. "The scruffy looking investigator scratched the back of his head "It' just that, Shiki's foster son or was it pupil, I can't remember which that boy is, was going to visit his actual home so they decided to tag along" he informed her with a tired igh already knowing where was going.

"If that woman spends time alone with Mikiya onii chan" Azaka trailed off trembling at the prospect of such a thing "then I" she began "then I will never have a chance to win him back" in truth she was not too disturbed about it, just the prospect of losing didn't appeal to her.

"Enough already" Daisuke stated "you really need to pic up your act quite a bit up" the scruffy looking man informed her "If you keep acting like this you will _really_ need to see a psychiatrist about it." While Daisuke was not snapping at her, Azaka needed to get a hold of herself. "You and Shiki Ryougi are perfectly capable of getting along when the two of you want to" he states "don't think I haven't noticed that either" he informed his niece. "so stop making a bid deal out of it Mikiya is responsible young man and he will not do anything."

"But" Azaka began but Daisuke did not relent and finally under his rather annoyed gaze she relented "yeah I guess that is true" the girl agreed "is it really possible?" she asked. "Mikiya would need to be a vegetarian male not to take this-" Azaka didn't get the chance to finish.

"I don't want to hear any such vulgar terms from you young lady" Daisuke informed her as he had non too gently tapped Azaka on her head "otherwise your father will be asking for you back" he said with a sigh "still have no idea why he even agreed to this whole mess in the first place" the investigator muttered under his breath, perhaps Azaka's and Mikiya's father had humoured his daughter in order to get all of this out of his hair and for Daisuke's own hair to start getting a shade of grey to it. "Well it can't be helped now" he said quietly.

* * *

"Did you have to put her to sleep for this?" Touko Aozaki asked her pupil. "I mean that she already lived through having them integrated into her body also she has made it that she doesn't feel any more having shut herself off to sensation, surely being awake won't be any worse for the girl. The 'Red' then chuckled "what am I saying, of course you want her asleep for this, otherwise she would she how you do it" the Sealing Designate stated, "a Magus must always guard their secrets after all" she concluded "you are no different in that sense."

"Is that so?" was Mal's reply. As he laid Sakuura on the table, the underground base he had was deep enough that what he was performing would not be detected easily or even with great difficulty, so it was safe to perform such actions her. "I could make her a new body, one that is more like her original, but that would just cause the same dilemma you faced when you created a body that was an exact replica of your original" the red haired boy stated causing his surrogate parent to give a knowing smirk. "Therefore to avoid further damage to her psyche it is best to work with what her body already has, it will be painful even for one such as her so unless you are Fujino Asagami this will hurt no matter what." The mention of the mystic eyes user was deliberate, Mal was drawing the striking similarities between the two of them to light. Touko he knew had already seen them but would not bring them up unless he didn't notice or he initiated this type of conversation. "Though the events that led her to be how she is right now differ, it is very peculiar to meet two of those one a million types."

"Peculiar?" Touko replied "I will admit what you have said is indeed true, perhaps this is something that even I didn't expect to see so quickly, perhaps in a few more years if I actually looked yes, but not in a matter of weeks" the 'Red' admitted. But neither of the two of us were searching for such a person and her she is falling into your lap" Touko stated. "I never knew you had a soft spot for broken things" she teased not getting a reaction from Mal you focused on going through the notes he had. "I guess I will help after all" the 'Red' stated.

"When I begin I would prefer to have little to no distractions" Mal stated "as I will first extract the foreign entities that I have put into stasis" he said "since you are used to such things perhaps you could help me dispose of them by setting them alight as they are removed."

"I take it you have already disposed of the notion of studying one of these familiars" Touko stated with a smirk noticing that Mal had left that part out "is it because they are connected to the Magus and you would rather keep this place a secret or are you just that cruel?" The 'Red's' smirk did not fade when Mal did not to answer her opting to instead structurally grasp Sakura's body as to get a better understanding of it he then muttered a few things about why one would damage their soul like that before he began the slow process of extraction.

"What do we have here?" Mal asked rhetorically as he surveyed a certain worm like creature "makes me wonder why a Magus would put his core into another person" the red head commented as he placed the girls heart down and forcefully tore the worm from out of it.

"I see now why you put her to sleep" Touko muttered, you kept her alive even after taking her heart out of her original body, even for me that may be just a bit too much to comprehend if I were on the receiving end." It was unknown if Touko was just talking or if she was complimenting him, but in the end such a thing was a distraction that didn't matter at the moment. "Still would you like me to dispose off this, I can be rather creative, in it's disposal" though the 'Red' said this she was also eager to learn how this little familiar functioned too.

"No" Mal answered as he stared at the creature that was now writhing in his hand "while you would undoubtedly cause whoever this was an extreme amount of pain, I would rather be the one to destroy this one myself he explained as a cruel smirk crept onto his face. It was similar to the kind of Smile Touko sometimes had, though it was a tad more dark and looked out of place on the child's face. "I wonder, how much will this hurt for you?" he asked referring to the worm like familiar "how much pain must you make up for as well?" he asked.

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Zouken Matou as he had been known for the last two centuries collapsed as he felt his true body die. What had happened to cause such an instance would have been on his mind but the ancient Magus was more focused on getting to the Worm pit in the residence so that he could ease the pain his fake body was in, given that this body he used to move around was made up of familiars it should be not too much of a hassle but the Magus who in basic effect was a dead apostle who had yet to be discovered due to his own reclusive and cunning nature would need more of them to sustain himself more than usual given the new state to his already unique if not outright revolting condition. If it were another who was in this pain that he was in now, Zouken would have been mildly amused by it all, but only very mildly.

Finally he had made it to the worm pit and the strain eased just a little, but it was more enough for the creature that he had become to gather his thoughts "What just happened" he murmured to himself reviewing what he had just felt "it seems that my true body has been" the ancient Magus paused there what was the correct word, killed, no that would be far too simple and explanation, invaded, yes he had sensed a foreign sort of magic effect it for a little while now, though he suspected that was more to prevent him from assessing his Sakura'ssituation more than anything else. "Could Sakura have somehow managed to find a way to counter the worms?" Zouken asked before he crushed that thought, he had broken her, in fact Zouken had broken Sakura so much that she had little to no will of her own left in her.

"Rin and Sakura were not to interact with each other per the agreement that Tokiomi and I made" Zouken mused "but her birth father is dead and my own offspring has gone and died leaving her with his equally useless offspring, pity Kariya died too, he at least had worth." In truth the last member of his family who had been born into it with Magi Circuits had been eaten alive by the same worms that made up Zouken's false body, still if Kariya hadn't been a coward and run away early in his life then this whole mess could have been avoided.

"I'll have to look into this, it can't have been Rin nor could it have been Kirei as I have taken steps for Sakura to avoid meeting the Executioner and he has taken steps to avoid meeting me" the old worm mused. "That means there is someone else in this city who is an active user of magecraft" now this did interest him as he knew that the Magus Killer was away. "perhaps it is just someone who is passing through" the ancient Magus mused "perhaps I should go inform my good friend Kirei of this" he stated with a rather wicked smile on his face.

* * *

"Say Shiki" Mikiya began catching his girlfriend's attention "what do you think Touko san and Mal san are doing down there?" he asked referring to the basement "I mean Mal san and Touko san have been down there for quite some time now, so I am getting a little worried."

Shiki sighed at this "I suspect that it may have something to do with their special kind of craft she stated. "it is best to leave both of them alone as neither would appreciate an interruption at this point" Shiki informed him "though given how the two of them behave you are right to worry" in truth Shiki was always a little concerned about Mal's doings as the boy had a bad habit of performing actions that would get him into trouble more often than no local authorities, and in most cases his research into thaumaturgy was no different if not worse.

"Shiki you're the last person who needs to worry about the trouble with authority that Mal gets himself into" Mikiya told her as if knowing her thoughts "though it is nice to see that there are other people you care for out there" he admitted "still Mal is smart, he will be fine." But after he said this Mikiya let out a sigh "though when it comes to Touko san I am not sure that I can say the same for her" he knew of her status as a sealing designate, or at the very least he had a basic grasp of what it actually meant for Touko and what it meant for Mal.

"I would say that she is a bad influence on him, but if you were to reflect on all the people he has in his life, the few of us that there are, we are all a bad influence on him: Shiki stated after abreif moment in thought, Mikiya was slightly offended with this, but didn't comment. While he was to say the least the best influence on the boy, Mikiya knew that he had many vices that were tied to his virtues which given Mal's nature he might pick up without said virtues, and that would not be preferable for society in general at all. Though there was no need to fear of Mal ever being 'too nice' as the boy did weigh all of his actions carefully and was rarely moved to compassion, his more empathetic moments being out of interest and to fulfil his own desire than to actually help the said person he was aiding in the first place.

In the end Mikiya did the only thing he could do, which was something the young man had grown used to when something regarded his younger brother like figure "Well then, let's just give them some space an dleave them be for now, we can ask about this later" he stated.

This earned him a brief nod from Shiki to show that she agreed with his decision, it would have been problematic if her opinion had differed, rather problematic indeed "yes you are right in this case" Shiki informed her lover "we can and will ask the two of them about this."

* * *

Mal looked at the results of his work and was rather pleased with himself, well he did admit that the process was made more smooth due to Touko's aid in this endeavour of his. Despite this the boy took a measure of pride with what he had just accomplished in front of him.

"I must say you definitely paid attention to the lessons I gave you" Touko informed him "this I will admit may have been a bit difficult even if I were to perform it" she stated. "Though that would have been due to my lack of experience with expelling that many foreign bodies from an object." Touko saw the look Mal gave her when she referred to Sakura's body as an 'object' and she raised her hands up defensively, waving them as a way to try and reassure the her fellow red head. "Anyway it was a good thing that we met her now, if we hadn't then the extraction would have become near impossible" the 'Red' stated referring to the way the worms for lack of a better word to describe them by had been placed throughout the girls body. "Any later and it may have proved too much even for one such as myself."

"Whoever did this most likely made it with the intention of preventing the host from taking it out" Mal stated as he began patching Sakura up, leaving only the faintest traces of scares where the flesh had been torn. "most likely given what the two of us saw the final objective of what was done to her may have been possession" he theorised earning a raised eyebrow from his mentor. "I say final goal as it would be the last thing achieved" the boy explained "I am unsure of why the chosen method was employed as it is rather wasteful not to mention that it is needlessly cruel if you ask me but perhaps whoever this was, desired to first shape her into the perfect vessel for their uses before they finally possessed Sakura." It did make sense given what they had discovered, though Mal felt there was more to it than just that.

"Fuyuki is the site of the Holy Grail War as It is called" Touko informed Mal remembering what she knew of 'the minor ritual in the east' as the Magi of Clocktower had put it. From what little Kiritsugu had said of it, this ritual was definitely not minor by any means.

"You suspect that she is a candidate Master for this Grail War?" Mal asked Kiritsugu had not spoken often of it, if at all but he had learned a bit from Touko. "That or she is being set up to be a one of the Masters by one of three founding families in the city" Malekith stated.

Touko nodded "The Einzberns are not based in this country so it is not their work" the 'Red' informed him. "From what little I have heard from my contacts inside the Association the head of the Tohsaka Family died during the last Grail War and his child is far too young and currently learning in England for the moment under Lord El-Melloi II" Mal did wonder why Touko knew this though he suspected that it must be part of the many things she got told of from her contacts inside that place, though why she got it is another question on its own.

"Which would leave us with the Matou's which little to nothing is known about since the start of the Grail Wars" the pre teen finished for his mother like figure. "Strange though why haven't your contacts sold you out et?" he asked changing the topic as he finished his work.

Touko smirked at this before she chuckled "believe it or not I am in possession of the valuable resource that most humans refer to as friends" she informed him "perhaps you should invest in getting some" the 'Red' suggested. "Though a boy like you would be hard pressed to find ones who will be friends you" Touko admitted with a sigh "there is a reason after all that I never enrolled you in a school." Hearing Mal snort in derision at this the 'Red' decided to add "that and I would rather not broadcast both my own involvement or position either."

"There is no real need for me to have friends" Mal stated "I am not someone others feel safe to be themselves around nor will it be easy for me to be sympathetic or compassionate to them either" he stated "nor would we be able to reach a mutual understanding nor would I be compassionate to them" he informed the 'Red'. "That and I would in most cases judge them when they make mistakes and would share my opinion if I felt it was needed, which is to say only some of the time" Mal finished his little speech on why he couldn't have friends.

"Well you can start with that girl as I guess she is going to have to be staying with us or our Taiga girl" Touko stated. "since you did just cut her off from that Magus that did this to her so I would say that you try to start with Sakura here since she can no longer go home now."

"I see that you are rather invested in trying to get me to try and 'make friends' as it were" Mal stated as he finished getting Sakura back into her clothes "Though I must say that your timing as always is rather well placed" he admitted. "Though I am unsure of why I need them, I guess I will do as you say for now." Mal then moved Sakura to a position where she could be more comfortable when she woke up, He was unsure if the girl would be upset due to the fact that she had to be undressed to actually perform the extraction and repairing of her body. Still Mal admitted that if she had been awake the repairing of her damaged body would have been beyond the levels of most human tolerance. Given the nature of his healing he had discovered that her Magic Circuits had been tampered with and with Touko's help had managed to revert them back to their original state, otherwise when Sakura woke up her body would have been in a haywire state. The two of them hadn't worked for four and a half hours for that so an additional two and a half were added, in total the two of them had spent a total seven hours, which in Touko's mind was relatively fast for this type of work which she was less experience with."It seems that she if finally stirring" Mal noted "I wonder how her dreams were, that is if she still dreamt at all" he added with a _very_ dry chuckle.

Touko let out a chuckle as well, though for a different reason. What the 'Red' found rather humorous was the fact that despite the fact that Mal had just changed a young Magus's life forever ridding her of the creatures that had infested her, he still found his little comment to be rather amusing. Touko also found it to be amusing too, just that she suspected that Mal's amusement was very different to her own. The chuckles were there even before she met him, being raised by her only gave him an excuse to show his morbid humour at such things. "Well despite everything you will still be yourself" Touko stated as she noted that Sakura's eyes were about to open "come let us ask her how she is feeling, no doubt the poor girl will feel sore and tired with what she just went through, even if she was unconscious for it."

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Mikiya awoke to hearing Taiga knocking on the door, looking around the house as he came to answer it he saw that Mal and Touko either had gone out or were still inside the boy's workshop doing who knew what down there. "Coming" the young man called out to Taiga.

"Good morning Mal kun" Taiga greeted him cheerily before noticing that Mikiya was not Mal. "Wait you're not him, you are that guy who came with that other girl who is trying to replace my position as the big sister" Tiaga stated "what are you still doing here?" she asked.

Mikiya couldn't help but sigh at her antics, she was in some ways worse than his sister Azaka was, that by itself was a great feat, speaking of the devil he suspected that she might be flipping out due to him and Shiki leaving. "Where else would I be?" Mikiya replied to Taiga.

"I don't know" Taiga answered him a little too sweetly "just perhaps anywhere that isn't near Mal kun so it would limit that woman's interaction with him." If it wasn't clear before it was now clear that last night has done nothing good for her opinion on Shiki as a whole.

"Do you want to come in or are you going to keep on acting strange out there?" Shiki asked as she came up to them. "Mal and Touko were up late working last night, I think that the two of them are still working so it would be best not to disturb the two of them for now."

"What?" Taiga almost bellowed "what do you mean the two of them were up working last night?" she demanded. From their first interaction it was clear to the duo that Taiga was not away of the moonlit world and it was better and safer for her she were to stay ignorant of it.

"Well" Mikiya began "you know what happens when something catches Mal's interest right?" he asked receiving a nod from the tense tiger. "Well then you do know how he is refusing to do anything else even if it is sleeping or eating if he finds someone he can help?" again another nod from Taiga. Now a fervent nod as received it seemed Taiga knew a little about how Mal tried to help people and from the young woman's now worried expression she also knew a bit on the methods that he employed in such cases. Which is why she was worried.

Before anything else could be said they heard a new voice call out "good morning Tiger oneesan" all of them turned to see Mal leading a girl with purple hair and purple eyes lacking pupils down the corridor "see" he said now to the girl "this is Mikiya oniisan with him is Shiki oniisan, the two of them will be getting married someday." This caused Taiga to blink and look at both Shiki and Mikiya more closely as she hadn't seen that. "no this is my Taiga neesan" he introduced Taiga "she is not that scary unless you mention her favourite feline.

With a bellow that more suited a gorilla more than a tiger, Taiga leapt onto Mal shouting "No Mal you promised never to tell anyone about it" she said as she tackled Shirou to the floor, who for some reason didn't avoid her. "Ouch" Taiga shouted "why did you bite me?"

"You had your hand shoved inside my mouth Tiger nee" Mal informed her earning a chuckle from Touko who had come to see what the commotion was about "what else was I supposed to do with it?" he asked playing the innocent part a little too well for Mikiya's liking.

It was now that Taiga took notice of the girl who she had dragged down when she tackled Mal"uh" Taiga said scratching her head "sorry?" the tiger apologised bowing her head "I just kind of forgot that you were here" she informed the stunned little girl next to Mal.

"Her name is Sakura" Mal introduced the girl who he helped to her feet she is a bit shy because she had been living with an abusive Gordian for a few years" this statement caused Taiga to gasp and Shiki to narrow her eyes in interest. "As such after fixing her up, I decided that we should not let her return home to that person for her just to be hurt more." Mal stated his voice rather firm, though given the situation he had to be set in his decision. "Is it okay for her to stay with us Taiga neesan?" Mal asked as he was wrapped up in a hug by Taiga.

"Mal" Taiga said in a somewhat strange way "I am so proud of you" Mikiya and Shiki realised that he had just artfully tricked the tiger into not asking question about what type of abuse Sakura suffered since no doubt it was by no means normal since it took him all night.

"Its a little strange" Shiki commented as she watched the tiger try to squeeze Mal's life out "he must care a lot for this Taiga woman to let her touch him that much" the Shiki user stated "yes he must at least value her greatly to allow her to behave in such a manner to him."

Mikiya looked at the tiger named Taiga and then back to Mal and saw the little banter going on between the two " _funny_ " he mentally noted " _it seems that his behaviour with this Taiga is very similar to his actions with Azaka, though he may be a little more teasing with her_ " Looking up and seeing Touko's amuse gaze even though she was in fact wearing her glasses confirmed that she saw it too ,Shiki on the other hand had seen little of the two's interactions so Mal being this playful was something new to her, not that any of them blamed Shiki.

* * *

Touko looked at the first class plane tickets and back to Mal "five of them" she spoke "why thank you Mal, I never knew you were so generous" she smirked now angling her glasses off of her eyes "but why Germany, isn't that where Kiritsugu has gone?" she asked her pupil.

"Exactly" Mal replied "I suspect from what little he spoke to me of it that he has gone there to rescue his daughter from her mother's side of the family" the boy explained "most likely given his condition he will fail" Mal stated "I intend to succeed where he has not." Mal now looked at the five tickets "Taiga has her uses so does her grandfather and it didn't hurt to get close to them, especially when they can arrange things like this" he explained. "The fifth ticket is only if you desire to come, Shiki and Mikiya stated that they are coming and since I helped her Sakura will have to come to keep her out of the Matou's reach" he informed Touko. Before leaving one of the tickets with her, Mal was tempting her just that Touko didn't know why he was just yet.

"Oh and why do you think that I may decide to come with you, I am a Sealing Designate after all and Europe will only attract trouble?" Touko asked but she suspected that Mal had a good reason for offering her a choice, given the fact that he may or may not need her help.

"While you are accomplished as a Magus, the Einzberns have something you do not" Mal stated pausing so that he knew Touko was paying full attention to him "an extensive collection of materials that you are after. Let's say in the commotion that some of these disappear how long do you think it will take for them to notice?" he asked, though Touko knew it was rhetorical. "Also I am going as it is a good chance to test out the new familiars I have been working one, you know the ones I was making in Garan no Dou, it will be the perfect chance to test them out against above human foes."

Touko admitted that Mal had a pint when it came to the Einzbern speciality in Alchemy and their rather large collection of materials "I will say you do have a point, though what happens if we are caught?" she asked. "I mean if I suspect that your bringing with you those skeletal constructs that you had build this place along with those metallic ones, we will no doubt get caught." she explained.

"Wouldn't that make it easier for you and someone else to get in and out with what they want?" Mal replied.

Touko now grinned at this it seemed that her pupil was rather devious indeed. "That is what Shiki is for" she noted "Very well then I will go with you, but this better be a success"

Mal smirked viciously "Oh it will" he chuckled darkly "oh it most definitely will."

* * *

 **Finally got that over with, and onto the Illyasviel rescue arc which I have been trying to get to for a few chapters as you might be able to tell. In any case the next chapter will be the official beginning of that Arc, and for those of you who are asking why he is taking Mikiya, it is because that guy can navigate his way through abounded field without tripping it. As for why he is brining Sakura, well he can't ust leave her or there is a chance Zouken will get the poor girl, so he will have to keep her on hand and try and teach her how to be normal, that or get a psychiatrist as he is the last person who should do that for her.**

 **So anyways if there is anything you would like to say, say like any ideas you want to share or any feedback you would like to give feel free to leave a review or PM me. Though I would rather prefer it if you left a review over PM me as it would be easier to reference ans sort that when I am writing the next chapter.**

 **Anyways I hope you enjoyed this chapter until next time also I will try to update more frequently like I did previously**

 **Also if you didn't read the part at the top my Quest at the Suffiecent velocity Forums is up, Fate/Rebirth if you wantto read it or add your votes to it, anyways until next time.**


	16. Chapter 15: Building of the Storm

**Yeah it's been a while close to a year, I know, writing this chapter was actually initially difficult for me but then in December a certain someone went and flamed it, not once but this person took the trouble to go through this fic and flame chapters of his choice, not even bothering to hide it. Since you can just check the reviews not mentioning this person's name it not really going to hide anything so anyway, the pen name this person went by when they flamed me was 'luna meow" naturally I was a bit put off since this person expected me to be perfect so I was a little bit annoyed it did not help given my own issues which I will not mention**

 **Either way my brother (Aburg76), who also has his own account here found out and tried confronting luna meow only for said person to act all high and mighty about it, talking as if he is the shit or greatest thing to have ever happened, only replying after several months and shit talking to him as well. Fortunately in the recent months I received support online and IRL** **that helped me get this fic out, tops of tojeriko121 and OverDemon and Flo463. Still here is Chapter 15 I hope you enjoy.**

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" _If what I wished for was granted to me, if what I wanted was given to me. Then, as I thought, I wouldn't wish for anything nor want anything. Because the things you were granted and the things you were given were surely shams that would one day be lost. The things you wished for had no shape and the things you wanted were untouchable. Or possibly, they might be the most wonderful treasures that would become nothing if you were to touch them._ " -Hachiman Hikigaya, Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Come wa Machigatteiru. Zoku

* * *

Mikiya Kokutou was a tad uncomfortable despite the fact that he was in a private and rather nice jet. It wasn't his surroundings that was making the young adult almost into his twenties ill at ease, in fact it somewhat helped calm his nerves, if only by a rather small margin. Then again this is what he suffered for being involved with a person like Shiki, though that was less correct, while his lover may do some rather rash and bizarre things it wasn't her actions that was the cause of Mikiya's unease. No that would solely belong to the pre teen with orange hair that he looked to as a younger brother of sorts. While Mikiya did admit that Mal was unusual and rather strange for a child his age, he also knew that Mal despite his rather reserved and pragmatic nature was capable of some rather eccentric ideas and schemes at times. This plan of his that detailed breaking into the territory of a rather ancient Magus family, causing as much damage and havoc as possible while using it as a distraction to either rescue or kidnap his foster father's kid was rather over the top, if not outright the work of a madman. Still what worried Mikiya that most was not the fact that Mal had taken leave of his senses and lost his mind but more the fact that entering the bounded field without triggering it was left up to him as he was to guide Shik, Touko and Mal into it. Now while Mikiya had done so before, that had been with Touko his employer and not some rather ancient and most likely evil Magus family, also he wasn't even aware that the 'Red' had placed a Bounded Field on Garan no Dou in the first place, but for some reason Mal was confident that he would be able to by his own design break into a much more intricate and likely better constructed bounded field and Mikiya being the regular person he was whose origin was normalcy, it was too obvious to say he was feeling the pressure rather greatly at this point in time.

Due to these certain thoughts the young adult almost flinched when he felt a soft but strong hand on his shoulder turning Mikiya's eyes met Shiki's black as void ones. "If you are frightened" Shiki began "then say so, none here is going to judge you for doing what most will find natural in this type of situation" she explained to her lover. "You are feeling the weight of being depended upon, though you are used to it, Mal has placed a great burden on you because he believes that you are the one who will be able to achieve it" the words Shiki was speaking Mikiya knew were a form of comfort and encouragement he was about to speak when he saw the Mystic Eyes user still had more she wanted to say to him. "When there is a chance that a human might die or worse it is natural for them to fear for their life, that which decides whether they die or not is done by how they use the time they have in such situations" Shiki explained, this must have been important to her at least since this was the most words she had spoken together, preferring to be silent than to socialise or talk with others.

"Thanks Shiki" Mikiya replied placing his own if only slightly larger hand on hers "You're right I am afraid of failing as it will make things rather difficult or near impossible for all of us and I would rather not let everyone down like that" the young man admitted to her.

"As always you are just too nice" Shiki chided Mikiya before giving a small smile "but that is something you should never change" she stated. Shiki then rose up from bending over "while that part of you is your greatest flaw it is also your greatest virtue, I also cherish it."

Mikiya looked at Shiki's retreating back and sighed, the two of them had a moment, it was not often with her ice queen approach but at least it was nice to see her softer side if only for a few moment, that was something that Mikiya himself could cherish and valued highly. Even so he while Shiki's words had put him more at ease that didn't get rid of the immense weight of the part he had to play, originally he had almost been opposed to agreeing with Mal when the boy had requested his aid, but 'being too nice' seemed to have landed him here.

"Well" Mikiya said with a chuckle "I guess there is no use crying over spilt milk now at any rate" he reasoned looking out the window of the jet "While I am sure that I am capable of backing out, I am sure if the person who will hate me the for it most will be myself" Now Mikiya leaned back into the chair, and closed his eyes using some of the few meditation techniques he knew of to help calm his nerves. It was by no means easy for the him but during Mikiya managed to fall asleep, that was something he had been missing out on recently.

* * *

Waiting on the phone Azaka Kokutou felt a her pulse quicken in anticipation, something was wrong and she knew it. Not because of the fact that her _beloved_ older brother Mikiya had gone off with her rival for his affections known to the world as Shiki Ryougi to another city to visit Mal's father with the boy, nor was it because she was afraid that Shiki and Mikiya could go all the way. Well Azaka would admit that was partially it, but this was a gut feeling that she had, deep down inside something terrible at least in her her eyes had happened.

"Emiya residence" a rather too cheerful and rather lazy voice answered on the other end of the line "Taiga Fujimura how may I help you?" The voice asked before adding "currently Kiritsugu is away however if you want to I can write a message for you and leave it for him."

" _That must be Mal's father's name_ " Azaka reasoned, though she did not expect Taiga to be a person, Mal had spoken fondly though not often of Taiga though from the way he spoke Azaka had the impression of an over energetic puppy the boy liked to play with, not a human being at all. Though it did make sense that Mal wouldn't have played with a dog like any other boy out there. "Hello, my name is Azaka Kokutou, Fujimura san" she introduced herself "I was calling because I was wondering if my oniichan Mikiya is there, he came with Mal kun a few days ago and there was something that I needed to talk to him about." She also would have added in that Mal had told her of Taiga but she felt it would just delay the answer and she really wanted to speak to Mikiya quickly." The sensation was getting rather strong.

There was a sound on the other end of the line as if this Taiga was confused "oh, you're his sister, Mal told me a little about you when I asked him if he had made any friends" Taiga spoke in recognition. "Your brother has strange taste in women Kokutou san" she stated.

"I know" Azaka agreed, it seems that there was one person in this world that agreed that Shiki was weird, or a weird choice for Mikiya at any rate. "Can I speak with him Fujimura san? It's rather urgent" Azaka stated, wanting to see if her feeling of dread was justified or not.

"Well" Taiga began on the other end of the line "I'm not surprised that he didn't tell you it was kind of sudden, everyone expect Mal kun and that Aozaki lady seemed surprised by it." This seemed to increase the sensation that Azaka was feeling. "You see for some reason they went to Germany, where Kiritsugu is currently visiting relatives" Fujimura explained. "I'm not sure how but I think he had left tickets for them to use in case they wanted to visit, since I am still studying to become a teacher even though I am on vacation I chose to stay."

"Oh" Azaka replied sounding rather horrified, though that would not begin to describe what the girl was feeling, this had to be Shiki's doing she just knew it. Acting surprised when she was the one to set the whole thing up, probably asked Mal to play along with it to boot.

Azaka was taken out of her delusions by Taiga "Is there something wrong?" the college student asked "you sounded rather strange on your end of the line" it seemed that Taiga had noticed that something was off with Azaka's response and was suitable concerned about it.

"Oh, no" Azaka quickly responded not wanting anyone to know her desire for her older brother Mikiya and wanting to avoid and strand of talk that would lead to it. "I was just surprised that's all, oniichan has never left Japan before, nor has Ryougi san" she lied, well about why she was surprised not that she was surprised or that the two had never left Japan before either. "Thank you for telling me Fujimura san" Azaka said before hanging up. After that she looked left and right to confirm that there was no one there that also included her uncle Daisuke, especially him. After seeing that she was indeed alone with not a soul around like when she had first begun the phone call Azaka decided to look at the ceiling before roaring "Shiki Ryougi!" Her voice conveyed all of Azaka's anger at the woman she just had named.

* * *

Looking at what was before her Touko Aozaki the 'Red' had to admit that she was rather impressed with her pupil and surrogate son's perpetration as she gazed at the amount of equipment that not child the age of twelve years should have acquired let alone gotten on such a short notice. Part of the Red was very much intrigued by what could be in the crates he had brought along, though from the slight scent of it the 'Red' deduced that it may have been his familiars the kind he made out of humans. Which was surprising because Touko had to her shame expected that such familiars to have a rather strong if not awful stench to them. "I guess that he boy does not see the reason to keep the flesh on them if he is just going to let them rot" the 'Red' reasoned "that or Mal seems to have found other uses for their flesh." While most people even quite a number of Magi would be rather horrified and disgusted by such a thing Touko was by no means among their number, as she liked to point out herself. Instead the 'Red' was rather admiring of her pupils ability to use what was available to him or which he acquired and how he was able to utilised it in his magecraft and downright borderline True Magic. Touko herself had begun to introduce him to the concepts of True Magic as a study which she was certain that Mal would be able to at least obtain one or two of them in his life time. "Well that boy has aspirations that will lead him to change the way of Society, the moonlit one and the regular one" Touko said to herself with a dark chuckle "it would make sense that he is able to prepare for this type of event on a short notice then."

Recalling the kind of familiars that her pupil favoured using Touko found another cause for her rise in spirits, that was mainly the most likely action that their targets will have as whole. "seeing them most will assume it's a dead apostle" the 'Red' chuckled at the thought of it.

"Good then they will prepare for the wrong kind of enemy" Mal said as he stepped out of the shadows, once again Touko noticed that he had come out of a set that she had looked at with scrutiny before and had not seen her surrogate son there "deception will be our ally."

"Been reading the art of war recently" Touko teased knowing that military classics were a favourite of Mal's though she did get a bit disturbed when he started taking notes from them for what she had initially assumed was no reason. "Sun Tzu was a great mind in his time."

"If you look at more recent history and more recent battles if his advice had been followed it would have resulted in victory as well" Mal replied "say the war against the Viet Cong as an example of how following his teachings brings victory and how they are still relevant"

That was also something that the 'Red' had noticed and grew a tad concerned when he was comparing wars and how they were fought and noting the distinct principles of the art of war within them that lead to victory and when they were ignored left them to defeat. "Well most magi would not regard his words simply because they tend to look down on all of us _orientals_ " the 'Red' told him. "Then again perhaps you are once in an era genius like him yourself, it would explain your aptitude among many things about your as a person" she joked.

"Which is why in the end we will be the victors" Mal replied though Touko was unsure if her pupil was simply playing along or was actually serious about the last part. "After all you are no stranger to fooling Magi who looked down their rather overly long noses at you."

Touko held her hands up in mock surrender "guilty as charged" she replied "how do you think I am able to keep extorting them for money?" she asked playfully "or how despite actively pursuing my research how I am able not to be caught by their enforcers" the 'Red' added.

"You use your sisters name move from one location to another, never staying too long or causing too much to happen while keeping your actions under the radar, not to mention that you stay in the 'East' as it were." Mal listed several of the reasons Touko had yet to be caught by the association. "That and you never use your own name, only using your sisters who the Association dare not come after her since she is a user of one of the True Magics, also you yourself have on rare occasions said that 'Miss Blue' has a natural talent for destruction."

While the mere mention of the 'Blue' in front of the 'Red' usually caused the latter to at least get irritated. Since it was a source of frustration and anger on Touko's part in regards to her younger sister being inferior in Thaumaturgy to her yet still inheriting the families Magic Crest., surprisingly Touko didn't seem to be offended to what her pupil had just said, most likely due to said pupil being mostly raised by her though the fact that Mal was merely informing Touko of why she had yet to be caught by the Mage's Association also was part of it.

"Yes that is part of the reason I have not been caught" she admitted "though I wonder you mentioned one of the True Magics in an offhanded way, do you really have such a low opinion of it?" Touko asked this question in regards to Mal's own borderline True Magic he had.

Mal turned to look at his mentor come mother figure "I do not hold a low opinion of it" he answered. "Like all Magi I would be pleased if I were to obtain one of the True Magics" he admitted "however I do not have any so I will make do for now and worry about it later."

Touko nodded in acceptance and relief, while the 'Red' knew that her pupil could be rather fixated if there was something he wanted, obsessed she could say without a shred of doubt. It was relieving that Mal had yet to add the True Magic's to the list of things, which was a good thing since conquering the world may be on that list without Mal of having even realised it. "Well?" Touko asked expectantly getting down to the crux of the matter "you said there was something that you needed to get my opinion on" it was a statement. "It must be something you consider extremely important since when it comes to your familiars Mal, you never ask for my opinion outside of what I would use." That was true, while Touko was not averse to Mal's tastes she did tell him not to take those he killed to make them into them.

Mall nodded "yes" he answered her confirming to the 'Red' that he most definitely viewed it as important enough or big enough a project to warrant her attention. Fishing through a bag containing notes Mal took out a stack and then gave it to Touko for her to read through.

Like the Magus Killer the Puppet Master was not fully able to grasp any of Mal's designs or descriptions, but unlike Kiritsugu and probably most if not all other Magi out there she was able to grasp parts of it. What Touko did understand both intrigued and also terrified her in equal measure, though it excitement could also be used to describe what the 'Red' just felt. "What am I looking at here?" Touko asked her student cautiously, from what she was able to understand this was by no means no small task, leave it to Mal to aim for the impossible.

"Just a concept that has not been leaving me alone for several months" Mal answered. "I was initially planning to start a week ago before you told me that we were heading back to Fuyuki" he admitted, which did intrigue Touko a little as to what he was going to do with this. "I thought that since the materials are here that I could get started, in an attempt to make one of them before we reach Germany" he explained. "Even one of these will prove valuable against the Einzberns in case they have anything we didn't already factor into our base plan."

The 'Red' knew that when Mal got like this it was next to near impossible to actually change his mind, in fact Touko would advise against trying since it was slightly on the dangerous side of things to get between Mal and his goal when the boy had set his mind to it. With a sigh the 'Red' gave in to her own curiosity "well we might as well get started" Touko said as she took out a cigarette before realising that smoking in a plane while was allowed was not wholly advised when one was about to partake in magic. "What is it called?" She asked.

That got her surrogate son to pause in thought as if he had yet decided on what she should call this familiar come Mystic Code, when and if they finished it. Then Mal smiled, it was not a nice smile, the kind Touko gave without her glasses "Morghasts" was the reply she got.

Touko had a feeling that there was more to this name than a flight of fancy but chose not to push the point, she herself as a Magus was rather excited and almost impatient to begin, almost being key. The Red knew that this was going to be a difficult undertaking for them.

* * *

 **Before any of you say anything, no Even with Touko helping Mal will not be able to make a single Morghast, seriously it should not bee that easy, he'd need the lkes of Medea as a Heroic Spirit and even then that'd be pushing it unless he had the correct materils. That is not to say that Mal will wholly fail, however whatever he makes will not be a Morghast unfortunately for him that would be way to over powered.**

 **Speaking of Caster, OverDemon a while back suggested that I write spinoff for this with Mal going down a darker route. Well turns out I was interested in the idea a while back in may so I tried it out. I've put it below, but just note that the Mal here is not wholly evil just more Utopia justifies the means. On that note he has achieved said utopia in this one, it is also the initial idea I had when I started writing this fic.**

* * *

Mal sighed as his eyes creaked open, the throne room was bare and dark, not a soul was present save him, how long had he been asleep, spreading his conscious across the earth? Seconds, minutes, hours, days, months, year, decades, centuries, millennia? Did such things even matter to him any more?

With a sigh he stood up and descended on the steps from his throne, his footfalls were heavy and like thunder echoed around the throne room. For Mal it didn't matter how much time had passed Gaia had been subdued, Alaya usurped there was nothing on this world that was beyond his sight.

It would have been simple to simple to move there with his magecraft, it would have only taken a moment to reach his destination. Yet the tyrant walked with purpose as he navigated his way out of his fortress, there was not a soul to be seen within it's confines. Mal had no use for mortal servants to wait on him hand and foot, they had much more useful things that they could be doing. Though there was the absence of one that he noted, and was intrigued by why they were not present in the fortress.

As he exited his fortress the dim sunlight lit up the world around him, the forecast was cloudy but not raining. Walking into the forest he trekked for two hours until he reached a city, Looking up Mal saw the expanded but familiar sight and for a brief moment allowed himself to feel nostalgic.

* * *

" _You're going down a dark path Mal" the man stated, he was sitting on the deck looking up at the stars. "And I find myself out of time and out of strength to prevent you from walking down it" he sighed and looked at his adopted son._

 _Mal returned the stare blankly his face betraying nothing "I have offered to repair you, my skills have greatly increased than when we first discovered them." This was true Mal had even offered to create a new body for his foster father, his tutelage under Touko Aaozaki had been rather fruitful for both parties. Mal had learned much under Touko's guidance and the Puppet Master had made an invaluable ally for life or at least a life._

 _The Magus killer shook his head in a tired and sad manner "my body could be repaired, it is my soul that was cursed" he replied, it was the same response he gave every time._

 _The boy found himself suppressing a sigh, he had only recently entered his teen years. "I will be using your bones after you die" he stated, your element and origin are useful and in this world of magi, the magus killers element and origin made his origin bullets extremely effective at defeating magi and humbling them in many ways, there was a reason Kiritsugu was feared by them more than scorned._

 _Emiya Kiritsugu nodded, Mal had never been a normal boy, perhaps he was before the Fuyuki fire but he was not one now. At least the boy had stated he would only take the bones to make Mystic codes and leave the rest of the body. Hopefully the Grail War will not happen for several decades to come and Mal may have found a way to dismantle it before Kiritsugu's own fail safe was utilised._

 _Mal saw it, the relaxing of muscles as Kiritsugu's head slumped, he also saw the Magus Killers soul depart his body, for a moment, the youth was tempted to ensnare said soul but after that moment passed he decided to let it depart. "Taiga nee will not take this well" the boy mused to himself has he took Kiritusugu's body back inside with him to his workshop. Whether the boy was talking about what he was about to do or the fact that his foster father whom Fujimura Taiga his surrogate sister was had a crush on had just passed away was ambiguous from his tone, though it is most like the latter than the former as she would never know._

* * *

The frightened woman at the counter was doing her best not to shiver as Mal picked up a several flowers and placed them in front of her, she knew who he was, they all did. "I would like these wrapped" Mal stated in a voice of fire and shadow.

"Yes, my lord" the woman stammered as she struggled to maintain her composure and realised her mistake "my, apologies, Tyrant" she corrected herself "I didn't mean to cause you offence."

Mal only stared blankly back at her, while it was true that the only title that didn't grate on hi nerves was 'tyrant', he was not about to kill one of his subjects because of it. Despite his dread reputation all of humanity prospered underneath him, all did something they excelled in, the earth was no longer polluted and they had an even higher level of technology than before.

"They are not for you" is all Mal said, _they are not for your grave_ was what was left unsaid. Getting the message that he had not come here to punish her for some petty transgression the woman quickly wrapped up the flowers and gave them to him.

Mal nodded reaching into his wallet and paying the appropriate amount before adding a few coins into the tip jar. Wishing the woman a good day he left the store.

As he walked through the city towards his destination people parted and made way for him, out of respect and of fear, despite the time that may have passed all on this earth knew who he was all did fear him and rejoice for it.

Entering a Cemetery Mal made his way to one of the graves, it had been at least a year or maybe many since he had last been here if the dead leaves and creepers growing on the tombstone were any indication. The name was obscured by view, shadowy tendrils went and removed said things cleaning the tombstone and the grave revealing the name and a date.

"Good to see you again" Mal spoke in a hushed and gentle tone "Taiga nee."

* * *

" _You know Mal kun" the tiger of Fuyuki began "sometimes I worry for you" the tiger informed him at the dinner table one night._

 _Mal looked up from the meal he had prepared "why is that tiger nee?" he asked her before resuming eating his rice while keeping his attention on Taiga. If anyone else had said this they would have faced the wrath of the tiger, fortunately Mal had made the way he said both 'taiga' and 'tiger' soun the same so his 'Fuji nee' would not notice, or perhaps along the lines of gave up after not being able to figure it out._

 _Taiga paused in thought, not something she did too often if at all, unless Mal was involved in some way, like he was now."You've been a lot more, withdrawn than usual lately, you don't let me come visit as often and you still refuse to even enrol in a school" the tiger stated, worry and concern was written clearly on her face._

 _Mal sighed while Taiga was one of the few people in the entire world that he actually cared about he sometimes forgot that that affection went both ways and that this was her way of caring for him, the teen always felt a stab of envy for Taiga's relative innocence, but like always he quickly crushed such a sensation, envy was not worth emotion nor was it worth wasting energy over. In truth Mal had been building up his forces, automaton and undead, the Grail war was in a few months and he had yet to find a proper reagent otherwise he would be stuck with the once and future King thanks to Avalon. He actually planned to either lock Taiga up in his pyramid come fortress down below for the duration of the Grail War or send her to Mifune to visit Shiki, Mikiya and their daughter Mana, that child could have a relatively normal person to influence her for a change._

" _It will pass tiger nee" Mal informed her "it will pass" in truth because of her association with Mal even though she was unaware of the moonlit world placed her in great danger from those who were in it. Now while the teen could have told her about thaumaturgy, he had chosen not to as while Taiga has been in close proximity to it, Mal had decided to be selfish and have her keep her innocence, for himself and himself alone._

* * *

The flowers rested on the grave as Mal stared at it, it must have been a long time as another group of people have come to visit it and had finished their own little remembrance. While the parents had been wise and had made sure not to disturb him their daughter had let her curiosity get the better of her.

"Excuse me" the girl no older than five years called softly or his attention "are you asleep?" she asked.

Mal found himself chuckling darkly but in good humour at this innocent comment he turns his dread gaze to her, the child not knowing any better only stared back meeting his amber eyes with her blue ones. "Am I?" he asked her still chuckling.

"Well" the girl began "you were staring at that grave for a very long time, several hours I think" she informed Mal "you definitely had been there a while so I though that you may have fallen asleep like Obaasan over there" she answered pointing to where her grandmother had been buried. Evidently the girl did not know what dying was just yet so herp arent had been kind to her and told her that her grandmother was only 'asleep' a cruel kindness but a kindness nonetheless.

It's at this point that he parents had noticed their daughter was missing and looked up with horror to see her talking to Mal. He held one of his hands up to signal for them to stop as they made their hurried way to him and their daughter. "Go your parents have noticed that you were not with them" Mal stated shifting his gaze to her parents rooting them to the spot.

The girl looked to where her parents were "mister what is your name?" she asked as she began to leave, this child was innocent, she did not know who he was and had fearlessly walked up to the ruler of the entire world and started up a conversation.

At her innocence Mal almost felt a stab of envy, but only almost, perhaps it was because he was here visiting Taiga's grave that he felt such a thing. But only almost, this girl was not Taiga nor was he the same person he was back then, we wasn't soft any more. "Emiya" he replied after a brief moment Emiya Malekith" with that he vanished from sight as if he had in these last few moments simply faded from the child's vision.

* * *

As Mal went to a different location he heard a voice speak to him "Master, you're awake" the voice was female and had a darker edge to it, almost sinister in fact.

The Tyrant turned to his right and saw a woman dressed in a black cloak wearing a purple dress underneath. The cloak had a hood but she was not wearing it letting he long blue hair be seen along with her pointed ears. "Medea" Mal greeted his lieutenant with a curt nod, she was no longer Caster having been freed from the Servant system and had full access to all of her legend if she so chose. "You were not there when I awoke" it was a statement, she was one of the few people allowed within his fortress and she also had her own workshop in there. Which while not unexpected was a tad surprising to find Medea not in her own workshop continuing with her magical experiments.

Medea did not answer instead she walked up to him and stroked hip cheek, for him her hand felt warm and full of life despite how cold it should have been, for her his face was clod and sent a chill through her hand. "I grow ever more concerned Master" she said in an affectionate way "ever since your victory was absolute your hours of wakefulness have grown few and far between" she stated. "You dream and stir only when something is out of place, thanks to the system you placed humanity obeys your laws of their own volition."

"Then all is fine, there is no point to conquering and guiding humanity if they need to be constantly controlled like sheep" Mal replied. "You yourself are celebrated as a hero, one who helped save humanity, and all those who had caused you pain in the past are scorned."

Caster shook her head, while she was grateful for Mal setting wrongs right that was not what she was concerned about "Master" she said "before this when I met you, you did not need rest, in fact I rarely recall you sleeping, now I fear that you only dream since you think there is nothing else for you here on this earth."

Suppressing a sigh Mal lifted his own hand and gently laid it on the one Medea was using "I merely prepare for the wars to come" he replied. "There is no need to fear, just because I am not using my original body and letting it rest does not mean that the others I have created are not being put to use" Mal was telling the truth though Medea's concern was touching, Mal had yet to master being everywhere and yet nowhere but was close to it.

Medea nodded and let her hand slide down from his face, she knew Mal had other bodies that he had learned to make under his tutelage under the puppet master, what she also knew was that in every one of his familiar was a link to his concious, meaning that when she hadn't sensed any of his bodies being used he may have been making use of his familiars, or perhaps spreading his consciousness around the world. That and Medea knew that Mal would have been also dreaming of unlimited blades.

Mal still remembered how he and Caster met and how much had changed between them since that time since he had met her, it seemed to him that she was doomed to be discarded by a man who required her when he deemed that her usefulness had ended.

* * *

" _What", the Magus coughed out as he tried to scramble away from the teen, "You're a Master" the magus accused "the war has yet to start, you shouldn't be attacking m-"_

 _Whatever else the pathetic waste of human life was going to do was cut off as Mal stomped on his chest breaking a few bones and pinning the man to the ground. "This isn't about the war" Mal spoke in a dark tone as he brought the weapon he had down onto the Magus's legs eliciting a gasp and a cry from the magus. "Atrum Galliasta" he named the magus "this is about the abduction of children who are my subject and attempting to use them to fuel your efforts in the Grail War" he stated. Before Atrum could respond Mal increased the pressure he was placing on the magus's chest causing him to cough up blood "for this crime I will grant you a great honour, you will be the first Magus to taste my origin bullet."_

 _Atrum's eyes widened in terror as he recognised what was being spoken off, the Magus Killer was legendary and there were rumours that he had taken an apprentice, who may have lived in either Fuyuki or Mifune. "No" he begged" clearly he knew what Kiritsugu's origin bullet could do "anything but the magus killer's mystic code, anything."_

 _Mal looked at him and smiled in an inhumanely cruel fashion "but I am not giving you the magus killer's origin bullet" he said in an all too kind voice. "I said this was my origin bullet, it is far worse" Mal explained. Holing out his hand the weapon in it disappeared like in tiny motes of shadow and flame. "Trace one" Mal stated as in his hand formed a gun, a Thompson contender to be exact._

 _Realising what was happening Atrum tried to struggle in a vain attempt escape this fate, Mal let him struggle for a few moments before pulling the trigger and shooting Atrum in the leg. Atrum Galliasta died in a unique way blood spurted out of him and began to crystallise into metallic spikes that jutted out from him even as it boiled and he was cooked alive, finally while he was still barely his flesh began to age to dust leaving behind only the steaming metallic substance that melted melted into a pool of molten metal. That began to eat into the floor, sulpherous smoke and coming up as it did so._

 _Mal reached taking out a flask from his coat and carefully commanded the molten metal into it before sealing the flask and putting it away in his jacket. Looking across the room he saw Atrum's Servant, Caster from the looks of it. "I take it since the recent interaction to two of you had that you did not agree with his methods?" Mal asked her._

 _Caster herself was surprised shocked, relieved, pleased that her master had perished but she was also weary of this newcomer who from the Command Seals on his hand that he was a Master himself, though from what he said, his actions here were nothing to do with the grail war and without a Master Caster herself knew that she would be easily dealt with since she took a high amount of Prana which her former Master had not supplied her with so she was almost helpless. "Yes" she replied truthfully "I despised it, and him."_

 _Mal to her surprise offered Caster a hand "Then you are in luck, Caster" he said "I myself find that I am in need of one with your skills as a Servant" he stated._

 _Caster looked at the hand and weighed her options, clearly he could summon a Servant but for some reason he was hesitant to or would rather not, perhaps it was because he didn't have a reagent or he had a reagent and believed that the Heroic Spirit who would answer his call would not be compatible with him. Then there was the option that he had no real interest in the Grail War other than preventing others from gaining something that powerful, given his character he might be choosing to participate just to spite the other Master by defeating them. "What is your wish for the Grail?" Caster settled on asking and was surprised when Mal chuckled at this._

" _From what I have learned of it, there is nothing that I would ask for that it can grant" he stated "though it is more the method of it granting wishes that I am more concerned with, why get what is the point of getting what you asked for but not want you want?"_

 _For Caster that confirmed it, this Master knew something about the Grail that most other Master's didn't know, something that made it worthless to him, what could it be? Caster was asking herself these questions but knew that they would not be answered unless she were to align herself with him, from the looks of things he had enough reserves to sufficiently power her. Looking at the hand now caster raised her own and clasped it._

* * *

Mal's attention was taken of Medea as he sensed something "someone or something is coming" he stated leaving the Heroic Spirit feeling confused. "If you so desire it you can accompany me to greet them, our new guests" he stated hiss connection to the world granting him a clear view of where a storm was forming at the top of his fortress. Storms did not behave like that nor did they occur in such a controlled manner, it was caused by by magic, something that felt familiar to Mal but what he could not recall ever encountering here. Medea looked to where he was and then gave a soft smile before nodding Then to two of them vanished observing the storm from atop the fortress but concealed by the shadows.

The storm raged violently as rain beat down on the fortress though it evaporated even more quickly than it could fall, confirming it's magical nature. There was the sound of thunder then a bolt of lightning truck the castle leaving a man, or something that resembled a man there in all his glory. In his hand was a mighty Hammer that Mal recognised, he had a copy of this stored away in his reality Marble, through the memories he had seen, he had seen this hammer wielded by this person in all those memories.

Steeping out from the shadows Mal revealed himself, he was by no means any less powerful than the one standing before him, nor was he any less majestic he had donned his own version of the armour, one with a more Japanese flavour to it, on his head he wore a circlet of iron and his eyes burned with an amber glow with a hint of eldritch blue in there. Also in his hand he held the sword that was centred in his reality marble, it glowed bright yellow with flames that burned within it, it stunk of death and it's shadow was corporeal enough to be held in his other hand. "Greetings Unberogen" he spoke the words in a conversational manner as if he revealed himself catching.

Sigmar for his part blinked as he looked at and into Mal before nodding "Well met" the god greeted him "I take it you are the one who rules this world?" he asked. Mal nodded opting for him to continue "I take it you know of me so this will make things much easier, I noticed this world and came here seeking allies against the four god's of Chaos" he stated.

That stirred old, no ancient memories for Mal, dismissing his sword and crossing his arms before nodding Mal spoke three words "I am listening."


	17. Chapter 16: Plotting Course

**Finally go this one out, thanks to all of you who reviewed. I wanted to make this chapter longer but I felt that would be dragging it out a bit too much, so I guess I'll pass the 100,000 words mark next chapter thanks to all of you who supported me through this. Also to Overdemon thanks, I was planning on using something similar but thanks for reminding me.**

* * *

" _I guess it's only natural for inferior beings to ride on the coattails of their superior counterparts. If they wish to keep their lives, they have no choice but to obediently comply. It's a never ending chain... as the ones who are burdened with that trust, in order to escape that burden, seek to find someone even greater than themselves. These greater beings then seek others even greater than themselves to shelter them. This is how Gods are born. But make no mistake. They all still abide to me. Because from this point onward, you will witness first hand, the power of the God they foolishly placed their faith in. I will become that God they have no choice but to believe in._ "-Aizen Sousuke, Bleach

* * *

Aozaki Touko be it known was not a woman with strong moral compass since she was a magus. This meant that she was ruthless in pursuit of her goals, and also like most magi had a very strong streak of pettiness. Given the events that had occurred with between the 'Red' and her sister this was not entirely uncalled for. As Sealing Designate had not really changed Touko, she was still ruthless, cruel and clever, though now she had to avoid her own kind more often but that was never a difficult task, most magi were predictable to her. Also let it be known that Touko had rarely if ever been afraid. This was not one of those moments, staring at the creature of twisted flesh and bone before her, the 'Red' felt horrified. Her reason was two fold, the first being that the process her pupil Mal had taken to create this fiend before her and the fact that she herself had helped him with the task.

But it was not the creature of flesh and bone that horrified the 'Red', nor was it the fact that it was made from the parts of Mal's recent victims whom he had preyed upon as recently as the hours before their departure. What terrified Touko was that he had somehow given this creature a sentience of it's own. "Mal" Touko addressed her surrogate son finally finding her voice as she warily eyed the end product of their work "are you sure this is the creation you wanted?" Her question was reasonable since her apprentice had said quite frequently that this was not what he had desired to create.

If Mal was aware of his mentor's reservations which he most likely was the boy did not show it, instead gazing at the creature before him with a critical eye as it tested out the form it had been given. "No" he finally answered "I did not intend to create this" he admitted with a rather resigned sigh "but I will work with what I have not what I want." As always he was mature and never really a child, she had taught him how to pretend to be one, but Mal could never truly be one, he was a magus, a borderline magician. Being normal or even remotely childish is discouraged in such pursuits. "Either way it will prove useful to my purposes" he stated walking up to the creature and stroking it in an affectionate manner, which the creature seamed to returned if it's purring noises were any indication. "I have enough witless servants who are slaved to my will, they're in the crates, perhaps this different approach is useful" Mal commented "in any case there is no cause for concern, I made it with undying servitude to myself alone." Touko did not feel comforted by that fact but Mal may not have care. "It's skin it tough enough to withstand a bullets so it is durable enough" he stated.

Finally turning from the abomination he had created Mal looked at Touko "I wonder what should I call them?" The 'Red' knew that he was asking if she had any ideas, more than likely since she had helped him it was only fair that she get to have a say in what they would call it, a dubious honour.

Touko was glad for this chance form having to focus entirely on it and directed a large portion of her mind to thinking about similar things to this that she knew about. "Well" she began "when I look at this and the functions that we designed into it the Philippine Wakwak and Ekek come to mind."

"Interesting" Mal replied also thinking over what she had said "we are playing this off as a dead apostle attack on the Einzberns so it is possible that at least one of them has may make such a creature." Mal thought on it for a few more moments "it is far enough away from Clock Tower to avoid their active attention" he reasoned. "But that would be far too confusing for them if since we are dealing with Germans here so in effect perhaps we could use something a little more close to home or should I say simplistic for them?" Mal may have asked this but it was a slight to most magi.

Touko was not most magi, she was a Sealing Designate and had no qualms with laughing at her pupil's joke. That and she too was Japanese which meant she was subject to the scorn of most other magi for being an 'oriental' as it were. "True" she agreed "we are dealing with westerners here." After the two of them had stopped chuckling Touko then made a suggestion "Since we are making it technically to rescue a princess from a castle how about we name it something a little more heroic, for irony's sake?" Mal was silent but this was a silence of consent, seeing that her pupil was very much interested the 'Red' continued. "What I am suggesting is a more of a theme naming, as we are using it to help us rescue Kiritsugu's daughter from her 'wicked' foster family aren't we?" Mal was rather amused but not certain where Touko was going with this. "While it would be amusing to think up a name with that context, I am suspect you are also interested this slight however may be more interesting, you see since the mage's association is will eventually investigate what we did here, how about we leave a few markers that point to a Dead Apostle which will be taken as bait without fail?"

Mal said nothing, waiting patiently for Touko to continue, we was a gifted listener "As you know in Germany the 'Wandering Sea' is the Grand Branch in charge not Clock Tower however a certain branch of theirs works closely with Clock Tower and the destruction of the Einzberns who while not as great as they once were are still a powerful member of the Prague Association so no doubt this will be investigated quickly.." Touko had taught Mal everything that he needed to know about the Mage's Association but it never hurt to cover all the bases a second time in this line of work, in fact you were expected to do so more than just twice. "You know that the Barthomeloi possess an irrational hatred of Dead Apostles as a whole, however the vice director of Clock Tower Lorelei goes beyond even that, in fact she is obsessed with one Dead Apostle Ancestor in Particular" Touko stated.

"You are thinking of leaving a trail that leads to one of the Dead Apostle Ancestors that will have the so called 'Supreme Mage of the Modern Era' running around like a rabid hound frothing at the mouth" Mal was impressed as a cruel smile split across his face. "Doesn't the queen of Clock Tower have close to True Magic thaumaturgy?" While he was amused by this situation Mal caught on quickly that it was an entirely risky gamble, at worst they would be caught and while Mal was confident in his abilities he was not certain he could take down the queen of Clock Tower just yet. "This is going to either go really well or really poorly" he stated "to actually pull this off I will need to have it behave in a manner that would make it seem like a Servant of the second most influential dead apostle in existence not to mention the most ancient." Mal sighed "This will be quite challenging."

* * *

Kiritsugu's eyes narrowed as he listened to what Taiga ha just said over the phone, apparently Touko had thought it prudent of her to pay him a visit in Fuyuki it seemed. The Magus Killer was not a man of sentiment quite willing to sacrifice those he loved for the benefit of the many, also he knew that Touko was not a person who did random acts of kindness, the 'Red' was very much a magus after all. On top of that she was a sealing designate which meant that she had to be even more cautious than regular magi, so she could never be a whimsical person either. Given Kiritsugu's current condition and Touko's speciality which she was rather renown for, the Magus Killer was inclined to think that the 'Red' may have visited to check up on his body's condition and offer him an alternative. While the offer of a new body would be tempting to most especially one with his unique circumstances the Magus Killer was more than most aware that everything had a price to be paid.

Knowing the type of character Touko was Kiritsugu know that he would rather not pay the price that she might name for her work, though it did bring to mind what she made Kayneth Archibald pay her for the services she had rendered him during the fourth grail war. Such things were not relevant and Kiritsugu promptly placed them out of his mind, though if he had to make an educated guess he could quite confidently answer that money would have been one of the things along with his silence as to her location would have been at the top of a long list. Though Touko may have been visiting to request a loan, which was also reasonable, though Kiritsugu did know that said loan wouldn't be paid back during his lifetime so Mal would probably be the one to collect on it, if at all.

Kiritsugu was so deep in thought that he almost missed something that Taiga had just said, however in this case almost meant that Kiritsugu had in fact heard part of it or a bit at the end. "Taiga san?" He asked the tiger who had been born a woman in a kind way "what was that you just said now?"

"Kiritsugu" Taiga replied over the phone "Mal kun didn't tell you?" Her voice indicated that she was confused, perhaps Mal had told her something and said that he had already informed Kiritsugu or perhaps Taiga just assumed that Kiritsugu knew already. The truth was that when it came to Mal the Magus Killer wasn't fully capable of doing if at all, his foster son was a mystery to him as well. "He said he was going to visit you in Germany since he said you had some business there and it would be some time before you finish it" Taiga supplied him. "Mal kun even got the tickets as well."

As Taiga had said this Kiritsugu felt the blood flowing through his dying and cursed body run cold, what game was Mal playing? Kiritsugu was not sure if Mal was aware of his connection to the Einzberns, seeing as he had only told Mal that he had participated in the grail war for them. " _Touko_ " the name of the 'Red' ran through the Magus Killers mind like a knife through hot butter, of course he could have found found out. Despite being a sealing designate the sister of the 'Blue' was actually well informed, she may have the resources or favours required to find out and inform Mal of it.

While Mal didn't have a strong sense of justice, though to the boy's credit he did try ever so hard to, it was twisted. No that was an understatement, the justice Mal believed in was as if he was so distorted the word meant something else to him entirely. If Mal knew about Illya, the Einzberns and knew that his foster father was in Germany, of course the boy would work it out. Why Mal would come was not something Kiritsugu could understand easily, the boy seemed to have a warped and distorted sense of justice, however he also remembered and repaid his dues to people.

To Mal, Emiya Kiritsugu was the man who had saved his life from the fire of the grail war. While Kiritsugu may have started that would have been irrelevant to the boy. He may have viewed this as both a chance to repay the favour and show how powerful he was to him and possibly the world. That last bit was the true problem. Mal given his borderline True Magic would be made a Sealing Designate without fail, most likely having some highly skilled enforcers sent to bring him in. After they fail that was when things would get even more dangerous as the queen of Clock Tower might come herself.

Now Kiritsugu knew Lorelei Barthomelo on a professional level, he was the Magus Killer and despite her status she was one who greatly appreciated his talents, having hired his services on numerous occasions. So he was aware of her Chelon Canticle Brigade, a group of 50 magi she hand picked to annihilate her enemies, Kiritsugu himself was once offered a position there., he had refused on the grounds that he works best when not tied down to an organisation and the fact that he had on previous occasion earned his title by killing members of said brigade.

If Mal was lucky she might field them to take him down, though all 50 of them are powerful and dangerous in their own right being able to call themselves a brigade with less than tenth of the actual numbers required for this while being modest about their abilities. If Mal was unlucky the queen of Clock Tower would go herself and that was a disaster that Kiritsugu would rather avoid since she currently was the strongest magus without True Magic in the modern era. Knowing Mal even if he wasn't discovered the animated skeletons that he was fond of using would be reported. Which is why he had to stop this fiasco.

Quickly apologising to Taiga and lying to the girl that he had forgotten about it, Kiritsugu hung up the phone. "Dammit what game is she playing at?" He hissed, the 'Red' could well have stopped Mal if she tried, the boy must have appealed to her in some way to make the 'Red' agree to his plan.

Back in Japan on the other end of the line a very confused Taiga wondered if there was something going on with Kiritsugu that she was left out of the loop. What she was a little upset about was that Mal knew it, had asked her if she would come and she had refused. "Next time I'll say yes!" The tiger declared with a mighty roar as she pumped her fist into the air as if she was a shounen manga protagonist. "That way I'll find out what is really going on the" unknown to her one of Mal's familiars, a rather small one made to patrol the residence and keep an eye on her relayed the information.

* * *

The weigh of responsibility felt heavy on his shoulder's, Mikiya was not one to shirk from work however some times even he needed a moment to pause and consider the action heh ad taken in life. More specifically the ones that had lead to him being given and important and integral role in Mal's plan of assault. The boy was banking on him being able to use his investigation skills to get through the bounded field that had been set up. While Mikiya had been able to get into Garan no Dou like that, the end result with him being hired by her, Mikiya had not been trying to get past the bounded field nor did he even know what one was at that point in time. Mikiya had already come to terms with this, however Mal had not told him what his role was after that, not that the young man would complain if Mal only wanted him to get them past the bounded field, but it didn't sit well with him.

" _How am I supposed to actively search for a way through the bounded field?_ " Mikiya asked himself " _I have no idea what to look for, and last time I was not looking to get through it only for a way inside._ " He was certain that this was a bit similar to Touko's choice of bounded field, that was one that used hypnotic suggestions to prevent people from noticing or entering it. ""Perhaps if I were to look at it the same way that I did when I tried to enter Garan no Dou perhaps that might work" Mikiya said to himself, Touko would be with him so he would be relatively safe for the most part.

While Mikiya would have preferred it if he was paired with Shiki, Mal said that he and Shiki were going to be using a different method to enter the bounded field, one that would more than likely attract attention and cause problems so that Mikiya and Touko could slip in unnoticed without issue. That was the plan at least though Mikiya was well aware that no plan survived contact with the enemy, and Mal also was aware of that. Though the boy had yet to explain any of his back up plans, which did leave Mikiya a bit scared about all of this, though the skeletons for cargo already did that.

Even given his more or less innocent and gentle nature Mikiya when it came to Mal was no fool, he had a very good idea where most of Mal's familiars came from. A city large enough like Mifune had it's fair share of human beings nobody would notice or more like care if they vanished one day and never came up again. Sure if this was something overly consistent the police would investigate it, and in truth they had. However being a Magus had it's own advantages, and Mal was good at covering his own tracks. The pre teen had gotten smart about his hobby as it were and that was terrifying.

Touko hadn't seen anything overly wrong with it and only instructed Mal to keep it quiet and avoid doing too often. Mal on his part had listened and obeyed her instructions. Mikiya found that he was grateful that Mal only ever did this to people who were not really worth anything to society but as always since he was 'too nice' Mikiya did feel some form of sympathy to Ma's victims. The horrors they may have suffered after the boy was done with them, or perhaps the fact he may have known some of these people from high school. That sick feeling never did truly leave him about that fact.

* * *

Despite the fact that they were flying the girl was asleep, looking at her Shiki was tempted to use her mystic eyes to see if there was anything overly interesting about her that convinced Mal to go to all this trouble after helping her. Shiki recalled that her name was Sakura Matou and that due to some unique issues that Mal and Touko had helped her fix, would be staying with them for the moment since they could not afford to leave her alone in Fuyuki.

Initially Shiki had offered to have her sent to her family to stay there while they went to Germany to deal with the Einzberns but Mal had politely declined giving some information that made her agree with him, involving her family in magi business was not something that she should do, especially if Mal had all but ruined one's work enough to elicit a very hostile form of response from said party. At least while they were away not in the nation that is, since if Mal was present with Sakura the magi who had used her for his experiments or whatever actually happened to her may go to retrieve her. Against Mal that may as well be suicide and a very painful one at that, if she was with him it most definitely was pointless.

Seeing that while Sakura had slept the blanket on her had slipped off Shiki gently and carefully slipped it back over the sleeping girl. The demon hunter couldn't help but see the similarities between Sakura and Fujino pondering if it was not just the physical but also the mental and emotion as well. Mal should have noticed them too, but if he did the boy kept his own counsel about it. That or he and Touko had discussed this in depth already, if that was the case then Shiki had no desire to speak to him about it. While Mal was good at hiding it, repeating the same thing again did irritate him slightly, though it was difficult to tell.

A good thing then that she had picked up on it since despite how much he tried, Mal was very much still human at the end of it all, though for some it would be easy to forget that at time with the way that he chose to behave. That fact was oddly comforting for her, something that Shiki was confused with, though Mikiya seemed to know but for some reason he was not telling. Perhaps it was obvious even to her and because of that fact she could not see it, this was usually the way things were when Mikiya knew something that Shiki was confused about.

Hearing some restless or groaning sounds from Sakura Shiki returned her attention to the purple haired girl, Sakura was most likely having a nightmare, if what Mal had said was true. Seeing as there was no one else around to comment Shiki sat down and gently stroke the girl soothing her while she slept. After a few minutes Sakura managed to calm down, seeing this Shiki gave a soft smile, something that was usually reserved for Mikiya when they were alone and she certain he wasn't looking -Shiki was also certain that Mal did somehow managed to see it and made a habit of teasing her about Mikiya because of this fact. Though he may have only seen it once and for Mal that was more than enough to put four and four together and get eight, or sixteen Mal was like that at times if only to humour himself-. Whatever was bothering her had past, for the moment at the very least.

Sighing Shiki stood up, despite the type of person she was and the type of person that she pretended to be, Shiki herself had reservations about what was going on. Though in the Mystic Eyes user's case she was more concerned about Mikiya's safety than her own, not that she would tell him that.

"Thank you "a familiar voice spoke as Shiki wheeled herself around to find Mal behind her, his amber eyes seemed in that moment very tired. Looking at Sakura he continued "in all of this excitement it is easy to forget some of the details that may be overlooked, thank you for remembering her."

It was never easy to read Mal and this case was no different, Shiki was not sure if he was referring to Sakura since he may have even been referring to Fujino, perhaps it was both. While Shiki could like Mal and see him as a sort of younger sibling he was not an easy person for her to understand.

"We will be arriving shortly" Mal informed her, "I will tell the others, but remember to wear something warm over your usual attire, while it is not winter it is still very much cold out here, perhaps even colder than either of us are use to. So there is no harm in being cautious in our preparation."

His piece said Mal gave a polite nod and walked away leaving Shiki with Sakura who was still sleeping, Shiki gave a sigh as she looked at how peaceful the girl looked and how their lives in the immediate future will be anything but peaceful. "I'm going to have to wear more than just a jacket and sandals over my kimono" Shiki said to herself. Once again the young woman felt the urge to sigh, Mal may have told her this but he himself may also come up with a way to avoid having to wear such encumbering clothing. What Shiki found worse was that she was expecting him to find it soon.

Putting aside the thoughts of clothing Shiki pondered what she might be facing when she and Mal forcibly entered to attack the Einzberns. Despite herself, a rather bloodthirsty grin worked it's way on Shiki's attractive face as she felt excitement at the prospect of this new type of obstacle to face. "Either way" Shiki said to herself, not bothering to hide the excitement she was feeling "this will definitely be fun for me at least." Saying this Shiki took out her knife and fiddled with it, checking to see if if needed to be sharpened, not that cutting or sharpness was an issue with her eyes anyway.

Still Shiki was a bit of a knife nut and could appreciate well made and maintained knives, this was the one Mal had gifted her, something that he had 'improved on'. Shiki knew that despite how much she had used this knife it had not seemed to loose it's edge. Touko called what her pupil had done as a simple form of magecraft but Shiki knew better than that. Encased within the knife were a collection of souls, violent and bloodthirsty if you asked her. In Shiki's mind Mal had done something ingenious, he had reinforced and improved the blade by trapping violent and murderous souls in it ensuring that their own failings as human beings kept the blade as an ideal weapon for killing. Something while Shiki knew was socially deplorable. Though the reason Shiki didn't mind was because she was not a 'normal' person by any means given the particular branch o her mystic eyes she had.

The reminder of what Mal had done to the knife triggered a far grimmer thought in Shiki's mind, the question of what would Mal do with the Einzberns they killed. This answer was obvious since given Mal's choice of familiar he would set about the task of converting them into more familiars for his own use. It was a given since while Mal and Touko were not traditional magi they were still magi and would mostl ikely use this opportunity to raid any of the Einzberns secrets as well as take this chance to experiment on them when they came out from this little venture of theirs victorious.

For Shiki the question of success wasn't 'if' but only a matter of 'when'. Touko wasn't the type of person to fail, she may make a mistake but the 'Red' will learn from it and unlike most come back and settle the score ensuring that her effort and time was not wasted. Mal was also like this but to more extremes, that incident with Fujino Asagami for example, since he had spent time helping the girl find Mikiya ealy on Mal had decided that the effort he had made to help her should not be wasted by Fujino going and getting herself killed. He is rather selfish when it came to things like that.

Looking over to where Sakura lay sleeping Shiki wondered what would become of this girl when Mal enacted his plan, clearly he may have overlooked her presence or perhaps he had added that into it. Shiki suspected that Mal intended to keep Sakura as far away from the conflict as possible, since at the moment the girl was more of a liability than an asset. Not that Mal would complain, the boy would most likely take it in with his stride probably wearing it as a badge of honour that he had achieved something while having a handicap. But Shiki was concerned, since Sakura was still recovering from what had been done to her. A simple look with the mystice eyes of death perception had told Shiki how fragile the girl before her really was, whatever Sakura had lived through had left her vulnerable, not just mentally but physically, that fact was that was a quite a bit disturbing.

Taking a deep breath Shiki calmed her rather excited nerves "Mikiya is going too be placed in extreme danger if Mal and I fail to attract enough attention" she told herself. It was not a pleasant fact and Shiki was not one to like failure, now that Mikiya was involved it was not even a possibility.

* * *

 **Omake Mal just watched Shiki's Master from Carnival Phantasm**

Mal stared in absolute shock and horrow at what he had just seen one the Telivision screen, perhaps there even was a large amount of revulsion as well. Aoko Aozaki, the 'Blue' the wielder of the fifth magic had raised a boy who was suspiciously named Shiki who she had dubbed boy 'h' and that he was a huge success. From the dialogue Mal seemed to understand that this Shiki was the protagonist of some sort of eroge game, perhaps the story was written by the 'Blue' with this little excerpt being some sort of secret ending. It didn't matter as when he found out what out what 'h' stood for, since Aoko had just admitted on television that it stood for 'Hikaru Genji' something that greatly disturbed Mal since it involved raising a child as one's ideal spouse. "Perhaps she needed the fund since Touko sensei gets money in her name all the time?" Mal reasoned, trying to find a reason why the 'Blue' would make an eroge game. Also it was actually kind of smart since Magi would never actually look at something like that, though he had heard rumour that the current Lord El-Melloi was interested in Japanese games. Mal also recalled that Kiritsugu had killed the previous holder of the title and breifly pondered is he should kill the current one if he ever became the new Magus Killer, if only for the sake of it.

"Boy 'h'?" A rather amused and familiar voiced asked besides him, this meant it was too late. "Hikaru Genji?" Touko Aozaki asked somewhat amused, and interested. It would help if she wasn't looking down at him as she said, sadly she was looking at her surrogate son and apprentice.

"You're too late, I am almost a teen" Mal replied flatly predicting where Touko's thoughts were straying.

Touko didn't seem fazed by this at all "given your amnesia you're only five" she countered "and given my talents I can find a body more suitable to that."

"No" was the blunt reply Mal gave. "Instead why don't you actually make the effort of finding someone who interested in you, we both know a certain policeman who is, also don't you prefer girls?" He was not having this conversation.

Touko sighed at her student's attempts to change the subject "you know though if Aoko really is making money of an eroge novel, perhaps I should do the same" the 'Red' stated as an idea formed in her head. "That's it I'll make money off her story, it will be easy I'll call it 'Mahou Tsukai no Yoru' and it will be a best seller."

Mal didn't share his mentor's enthusiasm, since unless she heavily edited it, Touko would be a villain of that game. But why ruin for her, best to let the Sealing Designate get it out of her system before he realises that her idea is a very quick way to get her sisters attention. Something igven Aoko's talent for destruction should be avoided. "Well perhaps I could do that with my own life?" Mal reasoned, before shutting down that idea, "who the hell would play a game like that?"

* * *

 **Yeah I'd thought I'd add that Omake at the end, in truth I've had that idea for a while since I introduced Touko into the fic and kept on forgetting to until now. Just for those of you who have no idea what Mal was watching search up 'Shiki's Master Carnival Phantasm' on youtube it should explain things. Anyway hopefully since in the next Chapter they will be in Germany I will get to write some action for a change, all of this how characters are reacting and travel time they are taking is rather annoying but I couldn't bring myself to do that major of a skip since such things actually annoy me when I write. Still I hoped you enjoyed this chapter if you have any questions you would like to ask feel free to leave or review or PM me, though as always I would prefer feedback in the form of reviews and question as PM's but let me know what you think should happen in the next chapter, original plotlines are hard with no basis to work on, so help would be appreciate.**


	18. Chapter 17: Never at the Pinnacle

**Yeah first off I want to apologise for how long it took me to update this, as always I will strive to update this quicker, but I don't want to rush this. That said thank you all of you who reviewed. Truth of the matter is I felt a little burned out for some reason when it came to writing and have not been able to get my drive back for a bit, hopefully I will find it. Anyways thanks again to all of you who like this fic**

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" _Freedom is something that you need to actively acquire. It's not something that's given with no strings attached. To be free means to take responsibility, and to prepare yourself for what's to come._ " Charles Beams, Eureka Seven

* * *

"What do you mean?" Jubstacheit von Einzbern asked looking down at the homunculus who had just come reporting to him. A few days ago he had prevented The Magus Killer from entering the Einzbern's territory. On further reflection the 'old magus king' of the Einzberns did note that it was far too easy, since while Emiya Kiritsugu was a heretic by the standards of all traditional and most untraditional magi, the Magus Killer's title was well earned since he had been able to bypass such defences that had been set up before.

Jubstacheit would not have recalled but the information that had just been relayed to him caused the golem reflect on this fact. Silently berating himself for believing that for thinking that it would be that easy, Kiritsugu's title was self-explanatory and well earned which was why they had hired him to compete in the Fourth Grail War, something which he failed.

"Like you have no doubt already aware, we are under attack by an enemy whose origin we have yet to determine" the homunculus replied, it was true that Jubstacheit had been aware of something tripping the bounded field, he did not know what it was, only that it had gone into the forest a while ago. Seeing Jubstacheit give a slight tilt of his head the homunculus continued "like you ordered several were sent to investigate to see whether or not something had indeed invaded or if this was just an error. Out of the four teams, we sent none as of yet have returned or attempted to report back."

"It has only been an hour and a half" Jubstacheit informed the homunculus "wait another thirty minutes then we'll presume them dead" he instructed. Losing a few homunculi was not a big loss for them, while they did help run and guard the castle, only a fool would believe that they were the castles only line of defence. The Einzberns were masters of Alchemy, homunculi were the most basic of its defences, golems posing as statues inside and outside the castle stood guard silently in wait for intruders. Gasses that could melt the skin off even the most protected magi waited to be released by some fool accidentally triggering the bounded field they were connected to. Add in the numerous ghosts and evil spirits that roamed the castle-bound to guard it.

Only a fool would attempt to attack them in their seat of power, that or Emiya Kiritsugu, though Jubstacheit was starting to have his doubts that it was the Magus Killer like he initially presumed. This method was just too silent for Kiritsugu's heretical but efficient methods. If it were him then Jubstacheit would have excepted explosions by now, several which would have been set off to cause confusion and let the Magus Killer enter from another place. Though while this news was not welcome it was not bad either if this intruder were not Kiritsugu then they would have a much poorer grasp of the Castle's defences as Jubstacheit did believe that Kiritsugu would have observed all of them in his time here.

"Perhaps there is no reason to keep any extra effort to guard Illyasviel" the ancient golem mused, he had initially set several guards there since he believed that the Magus Killer desired to claim the host for the next Grail however not it was no longer necessary to waste energy on that since this individual was most likely not the Kiritsugu. looking to one of his attendants Jubstacheit spoke "have the additional guards placed to monitor the Grail removed" he instructed. Giving no explanation for his orders the ancient golem turned and began to make his way not bothered at all in the least bit about what was about to occur in the following hour.

Then again a man like Jubstacheit if you could even call a golem like him that did not see the bigger picture always and he himself was only really ever focus on one thing and that was winning the Grail War. So yes he could not be held wholly responsible for his lack of concern in the whole issue, however that is what you are to expect if you give a golem a human's position, no matter how much more efficient it is, some things can only be noticed by those who identify themselves as human, which is why Jubstacheit missed it.

* * *

Mal's mind was a whirl of emotions, joy, bitterness, pleasure, scorn, satisfied, disappointed, he could not describe these conflicting but intriguing emotions. After Mikiya had gotten him, Touko and Shiki with all of his familiars through in without any fuss it, Mal had split off from the rest of them leaving his own golem-like figure, the armour he crafted with them for backup in case they needed it and to update him on their own movements while also enabling him to communicate with them. Sure some of his more subtle familiars were with them mu they were not much use in combat.

After some time had passed Mal had one of his familiars, trigger the bounded field to alert the Einzberns to his presence and his familiars location. Mal had chosen to hide himself in the large and rather convenient woods nearby the castle, having his familiar to withdraw to his position to draw in any form of response the Einzberns might have. It was rather pleasing to the boy that he found the woods were inhabited with natural wildlife, it gave him a chance gather materials to create more familiars and increase his forces size overall that or he could just kill and then animate the corpses.

It seemed that he was successful in only picking up the Einzberns curiosity, they sent only four teams to investigate the woods, which was perfect since they only had teams of two, making it easy for him to hunt and pick off the eight of them in a rather quick series of events that had followed. It was good that he and his familiars had the element of the surprise catching the groups of two off guard allowing him to limit any losses on his side to a minimum.

Another fruit of Mal's efforts was that he now had eight more bodies to add to his forces, while it wasn't that much since the homunculi did have emotions though they tried to repress them, it would work on a physiological scale against them. A very twisted tactic but if Mal's theory was true it would be effective, if not, then he would only have more bodies for his distraction since the assault he planned was just that.

That was how he was here his heart hammering several miles per minute the sword he had in his hand caked in blood whose owner now stood a little off to the side of him waiting for his mental command. Mal had one after one group in person, while he was in the process of killing the remaining half of the pair he had felt the urge for cruelty, the need to viciously slice into it as if he hated the homunculus before him more than anything else. Mal despite the passion that was burning inside him, restrained himself, such an act could undo all of his hard work, something that the boy was very certain would drive him to more rash and illogical decisions as he hated it when the effort put into anything was in vain, especially if it were his own.

"They died a little too quickly," Mal said to no one, in particular, reflecting on what this could mean when they realise that the groups that were sent were not coming out. "The real question is if they will send in another batch or come in force this time" he noted "what I need to do is cause a big enough distraction that no one will notice when Mikiya Touko and Shiki slip into the castle, that or they will be too occupied to intervene in any case."

Next, to him, the creature he and Touko had made gave a whine of concern, without much thought, Mal placed a hand on it and petted it "will Sakura be caught in the crossfire?" He asked himself. Touko had hypnotised the girl to keep her asleep and she had stayed with Mal to prevent her from being a burden on the others. "I didn't need this distraction, but I guess I brought it on myself" he noted recalling that they couldn't just leave her in Fuyuki after what he had done as the girl might have suffered a response from the magi that had tampered with her in the first place. Now on an emotional level, Mal felt no real form of attachment or affection towards the girl he had gone out of his way to save her and it would be a waste for her to come to harm.

"She'll be safe," Mal told himself "Either even if she is here I only intend to leave this castle as rubble with a few clues to send others off in the wrong and fatal direction." With these thoughts, Mal moved back from where he was near the edge of the forest and moved closer to its heart. "If their response is to come in much greater numbers I better start taking this far more seriously," he thought eyeing the direction that the castle was in. "So far everything has gone according to plan, however, no plan survives contact with the enemy, I guess for now I am going to have to play the waiting game, better I let them come to me first since I will have to move sooner or later to draw more of their attention away."

* * *

"What is that boy thinking?" Kiritsugu asked himself as he drove as fast as he could back in the direction of the Einzbern's territory "taking on an entire Magus family, I knew that Mal had rather high ambitions but this is ridiculous" he noted. Taiga had been more than willing to tell the Magus Killer everything over the phone if only for an excuse to talk to him. From what the little tiger had told him Kiritsugu was able to figure out that Touko had told Mal about Illya or that his adoptive son had come to that conclusion on his own. The question was why? Mal was twisted and distorted in nature His adoptive son was not someone whose motives Kritsugu or anyone else for that matter could understand if at all. Kindness was something that Mal forced himself to perform, it did not come naturally to him and that was what Kiritsugu found frightening and dangerous about the boy.

While for Magi in general compassion was something that got in the way of their experiments thus they discarded it, Mal never had any in the first place. He could not discard the sense of right and wrong since for him they never existed, Kiritsugu was under no illusion that if he had not been the one to find Mal, weeping for joy since he was able to save someone finally after so many years of attempting to do so. Then the boy, if he survived, would have matured in a far more sinister manner, then again Touko probably was not the best person for the boy to study under but she was the only one who could be trusted. Kiritsugu suspected that the 'Red' may have encouraged some of these more destructive behaviours if only since they would prove useful in an apprentice and a magus. That said at least his adopted son tried to follow Kiritsugu's dream albeit in his own distorted fashion.

Either way, it didn't matter how far Mal had improved since taking on a Magus family as ancient as the Einzberns was tantamount to suicide. Mal was inhumanly arrogant, though the boy was able to hide it well. But this time it seemed that it had finally got the boy into a situation which was fatal.

Kiritsugu slammed the break of the stolen (well loaned, he hypnotised the owner to let him use it) vehicle as it came skidding to a halt in front of a figure that the Magus Killer recognised. The creature before him, Kiritsugu had never met in person but he knew most of the 27 Dead Apostle Ancestors well enough to figure out who it was exactly standing in his way. Cautiously the Magus Killer got out of the car his hand resting on one of the many guns he had brought with him to Germany. Even if he were in his prime Kiritsugu knew that he would have had to play this carefully since with one of the 27 he would most likely be killed if he made the wrong move. Before he was one of the most powerful of the 27 Dead Apostle Ancestors, it was the first to hold the name Brunestud she was not to be taken lightly "why are you here, Eclipse Princess of Black Blood?"

A playful smile graced the hybrid of Dead Apostle and True Ancestors face "That offspring of yours, the one who is by choice, he is an interesting one is her not?" So she knew about Mal, why would she be asking Kiritsugu about all people about Mal? Aside from being the boy's father, that is.

Kiritsugu decided that since he could not see her pet Primate Murder anywhere around he could feign ignorance as to what she was talking about "I don't know what you are talking about or who you are referring to" he replied attempting to feign ignorance to avoid answering Altrouge's question.

"Attempting to feign ignorance is rather cute" Altrouge informed the Magus Killer chuckling at the attempt "but you have a long way to go to fool me" she explained. "Just as a note please remember that I can kill you faster than you can raise that gun, in your current condition there is no way you can hope to harm me, Magus Killer." With her open and direct threat done Altrouge continued "oh yes, as I was saying that boy, Mal his name I think? Yes, Mal he is very interesting for a human, if you can call someone like him human at all" the Vampire Princess of the Dead Apostles stated.

Deciding to cut to the chase Kiritsugu asked "what do you want with Mal?" He could fathom several reasons why any Dead Apostle would be interested in his adopted son, a Dead Apostle Ancestor, however, was a whole new can of worms, and not the kind that you buy when you go fishing.

Raising an eyebrow at the Magus Killers directness Altrouge gave a rather regal looking variant of a shrug "well if you just want to cut to the chase like a bunch of barbarians then we can, you see Mal as you call him is in a little bind" she explained "he's bitten off more than he can chew per say."

Kiritsugu didn't interrupt Altrouge because every moment she spent monologuing meant it was another moment he could spend to focus on how to get out of this situation. There were only a handful of reasons that the Master of Blood and Contract would be speaking to him, none of them nice.

"If I wanted to kill you I would have done so already" Altrogue stated guessing at some of Kiritsugu's thoughts and getting suitably offended. "You see I actually have taken an interest in your son, he would make for a powerful servant" the Ninth Dead Apostle Ancestor explained, "however when I approached him with my most gracious offer he rejected it and gave a counter offer." The last part about rejecting her did not surprise Kiritsugu, he knew Mal was far too proud than anyone living or dead should be, what did interest him was the counter offer that supposedly Mal made to her.

"You see that boy of your has big ambitions" Altrogue informed him "very big ambitions and a drive that will help him make them a reality." Walking closer to Kiritsugu who slightly tensed ready to raise his gun in a futile effort if the hybrid dead apostle tried anything "he offered to be allies and that I would have a place in that reality he sought to create." This definitely surprised Kiritsugu and it must have shown on the Magus Killers face because she chuckled after she said this, that or the Dead Apostle hybrid simply took for granted that he would be surprised after hearing this from her. "A human or whatever he really is, as interesting as this is hard to come by" Altrouge explained. "As such, it would be a shame and waste if it were to end here, if he died in his attempt to rescue that homunculus you seemed to be trying to get off the Einzberns, perhaps she is your actual daughter?"

Choosing to ignore the way the Altrogue chose to refer to Illyasviel, though from what he could tell, the Ninth Dead Apostle Ancestor was of the opinion that he had built Illya rather than sired her. The less she knew the better "you are offering to help. But what price are you asking of me?"

"I may have need for a favour or two, though as you are now Magus killer you would not be properly able to kill anyone I asked" Altrouge replied "That said, that adopted son of yours is actually quite skilled in crafting mystic codes or so I hear, and I could use several of them for something."

She was deliberately not telling him what she wanted Mystic Codes for, then again why would a Dead Apostle want any Mystic Codes in the first place? That was unless they had some rogue magus serving as their underling. That, however, in this case, is highly unlikely given who Altrouge was.

Seeing that Kiritsgu was not convinced Altrouge laughed "oh alright I will tell you one of the favours I could use, in exchange for helping save your son and daughter I think what I am about to ask is a fair trade. That is if you value either of them highly that is" Altrougue stated wickedly.

The Magus Killer's grimaced even further at the 9th of the 27 Dead Apostle Ancestors, if Kiritsugu were in his prime he would have refused and put several bullets into Altrouge to elaborate his point. However deteriorated and broken as he was Emiya Kiritsugu found that last comment to grate on his nerves in a rather vexing manner, so he opted to choose silence as his response. He knew better than to attempt anything against Altrouge in his state yet the Magus Killer also knew better than to trust a dead apostle, the one in front of him especially since she had stronger vampiric instincts.

"The clock is ticking Magus Killer" she informed Kiritsugu tauntingly "how much time does Mal have left I wonder?" The Dead Apostle and True Ancestor hybrid smirked as she smelt the conflict within Kiritsugu. "Do you want to save both of your son and daughter or lose them both forever?"

* * *

Mikiya had asked Touko if she was sure that they should have left that girl named Sakura back with Mal. His employer's response was a that she was far safer with Mal who could keep her away from danger than she would have been with them who were going to try and infiltrate a Magus's castle.

That wasn't what troubled the young man, no what troubled him was that Mal had no one to reign him in Touko, Shiki and Mikiya himself leaving the pre-teen to do the more dangerous task of playing the distraction. Mikiya didn't want to know what Mal would do if he was let off his leash and it was that which was the cause of his worries, Mal was capable of taking care of himself at times, sometimes if he slipped the leash Touko had on him, the boy would sometimes go too far and get caught up in it all. This was definitely one of those times that he would be needed to be reigned in as it was definitely when Mal was in the pursuit of what he conceived as justice that he took things way too far. Touko evidently knew this but was acting as if it was not going to happen which lead Mikiya to believe she knew something that he didn't, though that wasn't really anything new for him.

They had stopped talking as they waited in the small and small bounded field that Touko had made for them, while Mal was busy preparing and attempting to distract the Einzberns. After this Mikiya was certain that he likely would request that Azaka refrains from involving herself in Touko's world.

"If you are concerned about Mal, there is no need to stress over it" Shiki informed him, so far they had been allowed by Touko to talk since they would not be detected however before she had set up the field the 'Red' had asked them to refrain from talking, lest they be found out by the Einzberns.

Looking at the woman he loved Mikiya gave a small sigh "you know with Mal that I can't help but worry" he reminded her "I know he is more mature than most kids his age and even some adults, however, we both know that his humours can change rather quickly leading him to certain acts."

Shiki nodded "I know" she agreed "which is why you must place your faith in him that he will not and stay true" Shiki stated. "Mal despite everything will pull through, he knows the weight that is riding on his shoulders and Mal is not someone to let any effort be wasted" she informed Mikiya.

Mikiya could only smile sadly at this "hopefully" he replied, unlike Touko and Shiki he was normal to the very sense of the word, something Mal had joked that his element or origin was normalcy or averageness. That Mal had done in good humour as a joke though Mal had done to clarify that for him. As such unlike them he viewed Mal in a way a regular person would if they had been explained his unique circumstances and had to interact with him on an almost daily basis, in his mind though he hated this fact, Mikiya believed that Mal was a bomb waiting to explode and he was scared.

"It seems that they are finally responding to Mal's bait" Touko commented, as more homunculi and several golems seemed to be making their way in the direction that Mal may have been in. "I wonder how he is going to respond" Touko mused "we should wait a little bit longer" the 'Red' stated.

Inwardly Mikiya found that he was groaning, the waiting seemed to be something that he had not really taken into account when Mal had been planning with them. Perhaps things were going according to plan, but it seemed to be taking longer than expected, then again this was not a movie where the heroes could just go charging in guns blazing and somehow come out alive and successful. Which was reassuring since the waiting helped cement that movie was not reality, however, Mikiya was not certain he could take any more of it since he did want this to be over and done with soon.

"Mal will most likely make his move after this" Shiki commented earning a nod from Touko. "I find myself concerned although Mal can take care of himself I find that I am worrying for his well being in general although I know he will be fine for the most part or for all of it" Shiki commented.

Touko who had not been smoking this entire time sported an amused grin at this "you're just worried that he will get hurt" she informed Shiki. "Don't worry, whatever happens in there he will probably have unintentionally inflicted much worse on himself prior to this" that was not a comforting revelation but Touko thought it would be. "Either way, if he is using what I taught him, then he will be fine, since they are moving to where he is, allowing him to choose where they will clash is a mistake" she commented. "Though for now all, we should do it wait until Mal has made his move."

* * *

There was only really one word to describe what Mal felt when he saw a small army of homunculi and golems begin to make their way from the Einzbern Castle. "Shit" the pre-teen cursed, this is what he got for deciding something on the spur of the moment and not properly planning in advance. To pull off a feat like this usually took months of planning yet Mal had decided to do so with only hours instead of said months. The boy was really feeling it now, while he could deal with the homunculi without too much trouble, Mal had no experience when it came to facing golems of any kind.

It was there in theory but even with the knowledge, he lacked most of the materials to deal with the ones currently making their way towards him. One thing the young magus did have going in his favour was that he was choosing the battleground, and his mentor the 'Red' was an expert at traps. But that was the Puppet Master, while Mal had learned much from her tutelage, much to his shame he was not more powerful or as cunning as Touko Aozaki was just yet. Perhaps once he had become more experienced and grew in power, but that would take many years if not decades to achieve.

Silently Mal instructed his familiars to lay the rune traps, he had been preparing while waiting at the edge of the forest and to go deeper as they placed them. Setting the forest alight once they are all within it would be a safe move, though he would lose plenty of his familiars the homunculi would easily be able to replace them once he began salvaging their corpses. Can't let anything go to waste now, could he? Then the inconvenient struck Mal as he recalled that Sakura was with him, she may have been hypnotised by Touko to be asleep for these current events but she was still with him. This meant that Mal now needed to keep enough of his familiars to move her with him as before he set the forest alight. "Dammit" Mal cursed uttering something unintelligible, though whatever the boy meant you didn't need to know the language to know how frustrated he was at all of this.

"Why does a random act of kindness have to be so damn difficult?" The answer to this question was well known to the boy since if it wasn't random and was instead premeditated then there wouldn't be much genuine about the action. With that in mind, Mal considered not doing one of these for a while. It had too many variables that could go wrong with it and right now Mal needed to lessen what he was about to lose in the coming engagement since with the golems there it would be much harder to destroy them and kill the homunculi, though he could reanimate the homunculi during it.

Gritting his teeth in frustration Mal at least hoped that Shiki, Mikiya and Touko would fair better than he was about to be. Though given Shiki's mystic eyes, they could probably take down anything that came their way, Mal for a moment felt jealous that he wasn't in possession of such useful eyes. Having those Mystic Eyes would have made this whole situation easier for him since it meant that he could easily destroy the golems. Mal reflected that if he were in possession of such eyes Shiki would want to fight and kill him, so it perhaps not having any form of Mystic Eyes was a good thing.

"I will survive" Mal hissed to himself clenching his fist so tightly that his bones almost began to strain from the pressure. "I will not die here" he spoke with a resolve that border on obsession "puppets made out of flesh that have no free will of their own cannot undo me nor can puppets made of stone." Looking down at his hand Mal recalled some of the notes he had taken when he was still with Kiritsugu "flesh can age, a stone can wear, let us see just how far I can push that theory of mine, all will be dust!" The words whispered and yet exclaimed as Mal with his familiars slunk deeper into the forest.

The moment of heightened passions had passed, while it did help his resolve Mal knew that following them would get him killed in this situation. "A good thing then that I am not yet in adolescence" Mal noted, also filing that fact away for later since after he survived this. Puberty would present him with its own set of problems in two to three years. "Focus" Mal chided himself "I need to focus, I have that girl Sakura to worry about as well, why did I that I had thought this think this through?" It was less of a question and more of a lamentation, Mal already knew the answer, he had gotten too excited.

Seeing that the homunculi and golems had reached the edge of the forest Mal waited for the golems to smash their way into the forest with the homunculi, it was faster than he had anticipated. Which meant that the golems were far more sturdy than he expected. Mal cursed something unintelligible as it meant that now he would have to try and set off all of his explosive runes that he had set up there if he wanted to try and destroy even one of the golems.

Seeing that since the homunculi and golems were now all in the vicinity of his trap Mal decided to trigger the explosive runes."I should have focused more on shock than on fire" Mal noted as while most if not all of the homunculi were either dead and dying from that, the golems seems to be no worse for wear. "This Mal hissed as he realised that no matter how he viewed it his current situation was dire "is unfortunate" the boy finished as he massaged his temple "I should have brought the damn hammer with me."

* * *

Touko looked at the rather fiery combination of rune magecraft and her combustion thaumaturgy and rolled her eyes "if that is not a signal then I don't know what is, that boy does like to make a statement" the 'Red' stated. Mikiya and Shiki didn't need to be told twice as they were already up and moving, though due to the fact that unlike anyone else present in a 10-kilometre radius, Mikiya being a normal person he was a bit slower thank Shiki. Though Touko herself could not keep pace with the Demon Hunter either, that was also due to Shiki being a Demon Hunter more than the 'Red' is a Magus.

The three of them reached the edge of the Einzbern castle before they reached a wall Shiki turned and gave an unimpressed look at Mikiya "you lead us to a wall" the Demon Hunter stated in a flat tone. Mal and Touko had been the ones to come up with the plan have Mikiya lead them when entering the castle.

Before Mikiya could defend himself, his employer cut in "trust in Mikiya, Shiki" Touko chided "all this means is if we get past here, then we will be able to slip in unnoticed" the red explained "so why don't you put those eyes of yours to work, a wall shouldn't be an obstacle for you."

Nodding silently Shiki took out the knife Mal had made her before activating her Mystic Eyes. Lines ran along and crisscrossed all over the wall. Without a moment's hesitation or thought Shiiki plunged her knife into one of the red lines before she followed it and carved out an arch for the three of them to walk through.

"Fantastic as always" Touko congratulated the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception user. In truth, Touko was concerned about Mal since she knew that he must have set off all of his explosive runes in that blast earlier, and she wished to distract Shiki and Mikiya from the prospect of Mal being in far more mortal danger than they had initially planned for.

The three of them squeezed through the hole Shiki had made finding themselves in some sort of courtyard "She is going to be on one of the upper levels" Mikiya reasoned. "Not high enough to be regarded as a prisoner but high enough to reconsider attempts at escape."

Seeing a doorway Mikiya and Shiki ran over to it and checked to see if it was locked, to Mikiya's relief it was open. "Well it seems that our good luck hasn't run out just yet" he sighed with relief.

"It has just, Mal is just the one feeling it first," Touko thought as she carefully made her way inside of the castle with the two of them. Her thoughts were proven correct when they turned a corner and found two Einzbern homunculi passing through. Thinking quickly Touko covered Mikiya's mouth to stop him from breathing too heavily. In a fight, Mikiya would be dead weight for the two of them.

They waited until Shiki with her Mystic Eyes still active nodded signalling that the coast was clear for the moment. "I regret watching those James Bond films you recommended Aozaki-san" Mikiya panted.

"You regret watching them or you regret that your mastery of the English Language is not up to par?" the 'Red' replied innocently, those videos were subtitled. "No be quiet" she instructed "getting the girl is only half the battle, getting out will be more difficult." Now coming to a flight of stairs Touko followed the two of them to the third floor before she broke off and began to head back down the stairs

This surprised both Shiki and Mikiya "where are you going?" the young man demanded in a hushed tone.

"The Einzberns have a rather sterling reputation as Alchemists" the 'Red' explained, "I'm going to help myself to some of their secrets and research."

Shiki snorted as she grunted "magus" looking at Touko's retreating back, that was really the only explanation worth listening to. Turning to face Mikiya the Demon Nhunter whispered "we're going to have to leave her behind if we don't run into her on our way out" she stated. Mikiya was about to protest but Shiki put a finger to his lips silencing him. "Chances are that Touko will have gotten what she wanted before we even find this girl Illyasviel" she explained.

Mikiya wanted to argue but conceded since this was not the time nor place to be arguing "fine" he muttered "I just hope Mal is okay."

* * *

 **Yeah once again sorry that this took so long to write, and again I'll say that I will strive to update more often. Also sorry for the lack of action and the change of pacing at the end, I initially planned for this arc being where Mal realizes that he is not an overpowered protagonist (not yet). Which will motivate him to grow more.**

 **Anyways I thought I answer some of the reviews I was given in this time.**

 **Furukawa023-** Yeah I was aware of that, and I have planned something special in regards to the both of them, still thanks for the review

 **Rankin de Merthyr-** Please try and give actual feedback and not just chat to people in the reviews, while I can appreciate you trying to stand up for someone, if it really bothered them that much they would have replied themselves.

 **tamagat-** Think a hairless Varghulf, that sort or creature

 **MKaius-** I usually post these up as soon as I am done, but just for the record I do not write like I talk. Still thanks for the feedback

 **FractiousDay-** Yeah it is hard to get it to work, This Shirou (Mal) is a lot more distorted than Canon and that distortion has effect the remnants of the incarnates he came into contact with. That Said Malekith is not the biggest influence, just the one whose memories he saw first.

 **Judgment of the Arbiter-** Thanks I'm glad you enjoyed it, thanks for being the first one to review

 **Overdemon-** yeah thanks for that, I've tried Grammarly with this chapter. Thanks for all your support, I enjoy the little chats we have

 **The Rupture-** Yeah sorry about the late update and the lack of asskicking, I was kind of having Mal realize that he can bite off more than he can chew in this arc.


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